use of fresh tomatos: (1) whats best kind, and (2) if use puree, how much?

[ihavezippers]

Its been a long time since I posted, but I am "back...with a vengeance!"

Last week, nearing the end of my gigantic order of Escalon 6-in-1s, I decided to act on PFTaylor's inspiring post in "Finest Pizza Sauce Yet" and bought some "vine ripened tomatos" from a local farmer's market.  I have to admit, PFTaylor is right...the difference was striking.  However, it was a little runny to say the least.  So, my first question:

(1) I realized that the reason the 6-in-1s are so much thicker is b/c they add tomato puree to their tomatos.  Has anyone done this?  Can anyone give me a good proportion of puree to use per tomato (say roma-sized tomatos?).  Also, is there certain canned-purees that are better than others?  I feel like I am almost defeating the purpose here of going fresh, if I am getting canned puree, but maybe it won't diminish the taste too much.

Also, with my vine-ripened tomatos, I noticed they were fairly pink-ish when grounded-up, and not red like the 6-in-1s...this may be the tomato puree, but even so, (question 2) I am wondering if there are certain tomato-types (or "breeds") that are more suitable for pizza sauce.  Particularly something that isn't too exotic, which I could find locally w/o too much hassle or expense?

Thank you very much for your responses---I apologize if this has already been brought up, but I performed a good-faith-effort search and found nothing really related; and I didn't want to hijack PFTaylor's post...

[ihavezippers]

Wow...sad...I am replying to my own post.   

I believe PFTaylor's "Ugly Ripes" are heirloom tomatos.  Any significant difference in an heirloom over say a roma or "vine-ripened" tomato? (I don't know if "vine-ripened" is an actual type, or just a preferred way of it being picked/coming to market).

Anyhow, it is lonely here in my post...

[Peteg]

ihavezippers, My understanding of the definition of "heirloom" tomato is that of a tomato that is handed down from generation to generation.  Vine ripened typically means that the tomato has stayed on the vine a bit longer than the normal tomato which is picked when still green.  The best off season tomatoes that I have found have been the Euro fresh tomatoes that come from Arizona.  I can find them at most stores still attached to the vine.  You may be interested to try the pressure cooker method as was mentioned in the Heston Blumenthal thread.  That seemed to work well for me to add another flavor dimension and brighten the tomatoes up a little.  Also, if you're not letting the tomatoes ripen to their fullest that might be another problem with the color.  Good luck.  Peteg