Tomato use by style

[Lydia]

When I spoke with escalon, I was asked which tomato products were primarily used. At the time, I mentioned "primarily the 6-in-1's" because we were discussing online orders for the small cans. I'd like to verify this information with the forum and send an update.

When researching the site this is what I came up with. Please let me know if I've missed something.

Most commonly used Escalon products per style.


Neopolitan: orangic Christina's and tomato strips

NewYork & Chicago Style:6-in-1 ground peeled and  concentrated crushed for thickening

American, Thick, California, Cracker Style & Sicilian: 6-in-1's and concentrated crushed tomatoes used independently and combined.

[scott r]

I personally think Bonta should be sold by them by the 28oz can.  There are three (if I remember correctly) bontas with a different specific gravity.  I would love to be able to order the Bonta paste, and the lightest of the bonta in 28oz cans.  The bonta paste is the best tomato paste I have ever tried, and is great for thickening cans of whole tomatoes or sauces of any type.  The thinner bonta is great for a NY style sauce that is a pureed consistency.

I know these products are widely used by pros, I think as much or more than the 6 in1, and after all we are all pretty much trying to make pizzeria quality pies in our home ovens.


The christinas organic tomatos taste identical and have the same consistency as the 6 in 1. Also, someone making Neapolitan pizza would more than likely want the bella rosa whole tomatoes and not the tomato strips.

[Lydia]

Thanks scott. That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for.

There are some changes in the works at Escalon, that would affect most of our Escalon users in a negative way. And unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to share. So, in the mean-time I'm working my butt off to do what I can.

I'm also trying to get word out, to please mention "pizzamaking.com" when communicating/ordering from Escalon. They recognize our members differently than if you say that you are an average consummer. It will also be helpful to ward-off the negative changes I mentioned.

Thanks for everyone's help!

[scott r]

I did notice that they pulled a bunch of their products off the mail order portion of their site.

[Lydia]

I thought something was up when Escalons started showing up at local closeout stores and outlets.

That being said. My lips are zipped.

[ihavezippers]

Lydia,
can I make guesses into the negative things going on at Escalon? 
Is it urgent?  For instance, I just bought a case of Stanislaus Tomato Magic; it is good, but I still look forward to trying Escalon 6-1 peeled.  Should I be concerned that I will never be afforded this opportunity?

[Lydia]

Posted by: Pete-zza 
Insert Quote
Tonight I sent a note of appreciation to Escalon, using the Contact tab at the escalon.net website. In my note I also noted the reduction in the number of products offered at the site. As suggested by Lydia, I mentioned my membership in pizzamaking.com. Within minutes of my message, I received the following response (in italics) from Dan Milazzo, a senior brand manager at Escalon:

Thank you for taking the time to write - the kind words are appreciated.  As you note, we have whittled away at our overall retail pack offerings, but we will definitely continue offering our 6 IN 1 Ground Tomatoes and Bella Rossa Tuscan Tomato & Herb Pasta Sauce.  Long-term, we actually plan to expand our retail lineup...We are in the process of evaluating which products to introduce and when.  Probably not this coming harvest/pack season, but possibly 2007.

Again, no worries on the 6 IN 1 and Tuscan.
 

YEEEEEEESSSSSS!

 

Thank GAWD!


Big Sigh of Relief. This is very good news.


And thanks Pete!

The all-purpose 6-in-1's are available to order online, these contain some peels, hardly noticable. Samples can be requested but this is usually a one time deal.

I suggest that when you order, that you mention what product you would have preferred (e.g. unpeeled 6-in-1's).

oh yeah...mention pizzamaking.com 

 

[Lydia]

So...

Back to where we left off.

What do we want to see go retail, smaller can sizes?

I've already changed the tomato strips to Bella Rossa whole tomatoes.

[scott r]

When I spoke with escalon, I was asked which tomato products were primarily used. At the time, I mentioned "primarily the 6-in-1's" because we were discussing on line orders for the small cans. I'd like to verify this information with the forum and send an update.

When researching the site this is what I came up with. Please let me know if I've missed something.

Most commonly used Escalon products per style.


Neapolitan: orangic Christina's and tomato strips

NewYork & Chicago Style:6-in-1 ground peeled and  concentrated crushed for thickening

American, Thick, California, Cracker Style & Sicilian: 6-in-1's and concentrated crushed tomatoes used independently and combined.

Lydia, Thank you so much for spearheading this movement to try to get us more products in the small cans.  I would think that the fewer things we ask them to release in the small cans the better.  I would rather ask them for two really different types of product than the 6in1 and the Christina's organic.  Trust me, they really are the exact same thing.  I can't imagine anybody making Neapolitan pizza would ever want a product like the Christina's or the 6in1 on their pizza. 

The really good escalon products are the 6in 1's (or christinas organic), the Bonta pizza sauce, and the bonta paste.  For some reason the Bella Rosa tomatoes are not that great in my opinion (and Jeff V's). 

I also think the list of uses for products is a little off, especially lumping chicago and new york style in together.  New york style is Bonta all the way, with chicago definitely holding strong with the 6 in 1's or sometimes something even chunkier.  Here is the way I think you should break down the use of their products:



Neapolitan: Bella Rosa whole peeled

NewYork :  Bonta pizza sauce

Chicago : 6 in 1's (or christinas)

American :  Bonta pizza sauce, 6in1's, or a combination

General thickening of any of the above:  Bonta paste

California, Cracker Style & Sicilian:  Any of the above independently or combined depending on style.

[Lydia]

Scott,

Thanks for going into more detail about the tomatoes. I  primarily use unseasoned concentrated tomato products and just dilute to my desired consistency. It sounds like Bonta would work just fine, I've been using the Bella Rossa concentrated crushed. Bella Rossa is best that is available to me, and I assume that would also be true regarding 6-in-1 use.

I've been wanting to ask if anyone has given the Cristiforo products a try.

[scott r]

The Bella Rosa concentrated crushed is very very similar to Bonta.  It is in between the thickness of the bonta paste and the bonta pizza sauce, but has the same flavor.

If you wanted an American or NY style smooth the thinner bonta would taste better because it is less processed.  The longer they have to cook the tomato product to thicken it the more flavor you loose.

For thickening sauces the bonta paste is better because you can use less of it than the Bell Rosa to achieve the same thickness, maximizing the amount of unprocessed tomato.

Still the bella Rosa is an excellent product.


A local pizzeria here near Boston who usually uses Bonta pizza sauce just switched to one of the Christoforo products.  I noticed the change and asked them what happened.   They said that as soon as they had used up all the Christoforo pizza sauce they were going back to the Bonta.


I have always wondered what the difference between the Bella Rosa whole tomatoes and the Christoforo Colombo whole tomatoes is.  If you get a chance ask you contact if they use the same strain of tomato for me.   

THANKS!

[Lydia]

Scott, not a problem, I'll ask if there is any difference in variety or strain tomatoes.

[Lydia]

I presenting these questions to Escalon, the responses are in Italics.

 

1. What are 6-in-1's?   6 varieties of tomatoes or 6 original uses?


The name portrays its versatility - 6 uses in 1 can...
 

2. What is the difference between the Bella Rosa whole tomatoes and the Christoforo Colombo whole tomatoes.  Are they same strain of tomato or just processed differently?

We no longer produce the Bella Rossa whole peeled...The Colombo's are whole peeled pear tomatoes.  

3. Is the primary difference between the Bonta paste and the Bella Rossa concentrated crushed, that the Bella Rossa's have all  the seeds and peels strained? I assume there is a difference in viscosity as well.

The Bella Rossa is a coarser product, meaning that it contains larger bits of peel and some seeds.  Our paste is processed through a finer screen and does not contain any seeds, and the peel is very, very small.  Paste is considerably thicker than the concentrated crushed.

Scott,

I guess we wont know for sure if the tomatoes were a different strain or not. I'm guess that they use the same tomatoes in all of their product, minus the organics, of course.

[scott r]

Lydia, thank you so much for checking for me.  I am going to give the tomatoes a try when I get a chance and I will report back.

[Lydia]

Great, thanks.