First Chicago Deep Dish

[Garvey]

Classico tomatoes (rebadged 6-in-1 brand tomatoes) are, by far, the best I've had.  BTW, this kind of thing has been discussed elsewhere on the forum, Flavorman, if you're interested in reading more.

[Chicago Bob]

if the tomatoes are good, who cares is they are "real" san marzano's or not?  san marzano simply refers to plum tomatoes grown in san marzano, but there is no reason that the same varieties grown elsewhere can't be as good.  Afterall, all tomatoes were imported to Europe from the new world anyway.

there is great sparkling wine made all over the place, but everyone still calls it champagne   

  I believe Mr. Deas was merely pointing out how a clever company named "San Marzano" is overcharging in a misleading way. Some folks will pay a premium for those words believing the product is the real deal. And YES, those particular tomatoes are quite good and YES there is also other tomatoes out there equally as good but without the high priced "label gimmic" for a product that does not come from "San Marzano, Italy".

Bob

[CDNpielover]

I think we have really started something here...I have in the past when informed about San Marzona vs other brands and when tested the flavor was day and night...I did a flavor test with a few other store brought brands and agreed I thought true San Marzona had flavor and sweetness I could tell the differance and loved....yes year to year it might be differant....This is not just about Pizza but other dishes we all make....I sincerely believe the cost of the San Marzono vs Hunts is worth it.....My big problem is I have been buying the the brand we are talking about and paying 3.95 a can vs/ 1.50-2.00 for others.....I wish this was a total forum discussion and I hope it will be....come on Norma,peet-za,dkm, vcb and others...what are your thoughts...I know when you add a bunch of spices to the sauce it might not be noticable...but this to me is a big deal...

I hear what you're saying about imported San Marzanos, but I don't think it's fair to compare them to store brand tomatoes and than make an umbrella statement that San Marzano are the best in the world (and better than e.g. US plum tomatoes). 

6-in-1s are high quality American tomatoes, and many folks around here also like the US Walmart Great Value tomatoes (I haven't tried them since they are sourced differently here in Canada).  However, IMO it's silly to say that tomatoes from italy are hands down the best available in the world.  sure, they might seem good, but great tomatoes can be grown anywhere.   

[Chicago Bob]

I think we have really started something here...I have in the past when informed about San Marzona vs other brands and when tested the flavor was day and night...I did a flavor test with a few other store brought brands and agreed I thought true San Marzona had flavor and sweetness I could tell the differance and loved....yes year to year it might be differant....This is not just about Pizza but other dishes we all make....I sincerely believe the cost of the San Marzono vs Hunts is worth it.....My big problem is I have been buying the the brand we are talking about and paying 3.95 a can vs/ 1.50-2.00 for others.....I wish this was a total forum discussion and I hope it will be....come on Norma,peet-za,dkm, vcb and others...what are your thoughts...I know when you add a bunch of spices to the sauce it might not be noticable...but this to me is a big deal...

FLAVORMAN,

Calm down buddy...I don't think we have to send the big guns out just yet for an investigation!!
In your post at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,18953.msg186682.html#msg186682
you say you have been using the "cheater label" product for a few years....so,...you like them ,right? But now AFTER finding out they don't actually come from where you thought they did you say..."really disappointed,just used 3 cans for pasta sauce to freeze"...again,..you like them. As CDN pointed out....the world is full of misnamed, mislabeled products...Norma, Peter et.al., superhuman as they seem,
 can't police the tomato companies!
Go back and taste those tomatoes....they taste pretty good don't they? I know they do cause I've "been had" by that company too and believe me....for the price they charge (especially on 2 for 1 day) ...you could do a whole lot worse...

Bob

[Pete-zza]

I don't very often use the San Marzanos although I like them and, when I do use them, I look for authentic San Marzanos with the D.O.P. certification. However, the subject of the domestic canned San Marzanos has come up on the forum several times over the years. In fact, I first wrote about them way back in 2005, at Reply 7 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1095.msg9765.html#msg9765, and later at Reply 4 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5640.msg47843/topicseen.html#msg47843 and at Reply 27 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,3357.msg32078/topicseen.html#msg32078. As noted there, I was not fond of the domestic San Marzanos. But maybe things have changed for the better since then, and who am I to tell someone who likes them not to use them? But, because there seems to be a lot of skulduggery going on with San Marzano tomatoes, with many cases of counterfeiting and fraud, I would be careful about any tomato product that is held out to be an authentic San Marzano tomato. Also, as Marco has told us in the past, for example, at Reply 3 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1095.msg9759.html#msg9759, there are non-D.O.P. tomatoes that are as good or better than the D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes.

Peter

[FLAVORMAN]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have calmed down just so disappointed in getting ripped off. Where I live we have no 2 for 1 for this item.  Peter the info you supplied was very interesting, thanks to all again...our Pasta sauce does taste pretty good..ha ha ha