I'd heard about a cash-and-carry store near me (in Wilkes-Barre, PA) called City Mager. I finally stopped in this morning, and they had a whole wall full of Cento products.
I bought:
1) Italian Peeled Tomatoes (product of Italy) 35 oz. can for $1.95
2) Italian Style Peeled, San Marzano Variety (product of Italy) 28 oz. can for $1.35
3) D.O.C. San Marzano Peeled, 28 oz. can for $2.99
Of course I had to crack them open as soon as I got home. I tasted them in the order above and found:
1) Packed in a thin sauce. Nice large, whole tomatoes. Good flavor, a little bit acidic, comparable to a good US canned tomato.
2) Thick sauce. Nice deep red, medium to large whole tomatoes. Great flavor--rich, earthy and complex with lots of natural sweetness. A real stunner of a canned tomato.
3) Thin sauce. Smallish tomatoes, many not intact. Very thin watery flavor, I can tease some of the San Marzano flavor out of them but they're pretty much crap compared to #2.
Interesting how the cheapest one is by far the best. And the fancy, expensive D.O.C. can is the worst.
Anyone else have a similar experience with these?
---Guy
