Author Topic: Cento (Read 11103 times)

PizzaBrewer · « **Reply #20 on:** March 25, 2008, 03:01:54 PM »

Reviewing my notes, my favorite from before was the 3rd can, and the first can was OK. The 2nd can was new, and from scott's posting, potentially the best as it has the "ROA" designation on the inkjet code.

So I cracked them all open and found the 3rd can was still my favorite. The "ROA" is an excellent tomato, but the "Italian Style" continues to show an unmatched ripeness and depth of flavor. It continues to be a real stunner of a canned tomato. And at $1.39 for a 28 oz can, it's a tremendous value.

scott r · « **Reply #21 on:** March 25, 2008, 11:36:06 PM »

Pizza Brewer, there's nothing wrong with preferring a california tomato. To me there is a "fresher" taste to those, and the Italian (ROA) tomatoes have more depth, but lack some sweetness. I agree that they are both good!

The nice thing about the Cento california grown or "italian style" tomatoes is that they seem to have less citric acid taste than most of the domestic brands. Of course Escalon uses no citric acid, but it is definitely hard to find their products locally.

MTPIZZA · « **Reply #22 on:** March 26, 2008, 08:14:36 AM »

I recently picked up Cento Organic crushed tomatoes which were amazing... very rich tomato flavor. (we are big on Organic and I'm glad they are starting to show up in canned tomato products now)...

Chet · « **Reply #23 on:** March 27, 2008, 10:02:37 PM »

Quote from: PizzaBrewer on March 25, 2008, 02:57:45 PM

Cento sure does try to keep things confusing. I returned to the City Mager cash-and-carry (Wilkes-Barre PA), and found another similar looking can of whole tomatoes. I couldn't remember my favorite from before (I did remember that the DOP were the worst of the bunch), so I bought 3 types:

Pizza brewer

Let me know which you prefer, I stop by City Mager once a week,

Chet

PizzaBrewer · « **Reply #24 on:** March 28, 2008, 08:13:28 AM »

Chet: The 3rd can, which as Scott pointed out is US-grown San Marzanos, is my favorite. It has a deep, earthy, ripe San Marzano flavor with lots of natural sweetness. It's $1.39 for a 28 oz. can.

One thing I realized upon closer examination is the US can has some added salt (220 mg. per serving) vs. the Italian ones (20 mg. per serving). When I added some salt to Scott's favorite (2nd can, "Product of San Marzano Italy") and made a sauce, it was neck-and-neck with my favorite. It's $1.95 for a 35 oz. can.

So buy one of each and try for yourself! Please be sure to post your findings.

And as I mentioned before, the worst can I tried was the DOP San Marzanos at $2.99 per 35 oz. can. So don't bother with them.

---Guy

P.S. If you haven't tried them before, also pick up a can of Alta Cucina, about $4 or $5 for a #10 can. Probably my all-time favorite canned tomato. Very bright, American-tomato-y flavor. Some don't care for it since the citric acid does play a role, but I like the "edge" it contributes to the flavor. IMO, a sauce on a typical American pizza needs some of that tomato "bite" to be noticed under all the cheese. It's a different story with a typical Italian pizza, which may have no cheese at all or just a few scattered hunks of mozz.

Tonio · « **Reply #25 on:** April 12, 2008, 12:03:45 AM »

Howz this for a curve ball?

marked as 5TC?/not from concetrate/crushed

Tonio · « **Reply #26 on:** April 12, 2008, 12:04:16 AM »

anton-luigi · « **Reply #27 on:** September 29, 2008, 12:57:56 PM »

My local grocery store has Cento San Marzano's, DOP labeled, they are VERY expensive, I have paid 5.49 for a 28 ounce can, if I drive 6 miles to the next town, Super One grocery store has the same cans for 4.59. Our local store also sells a brand called Dell Alpe, they have recently brought in cans of peeled Italian Plum tomatos, I believe they are selling for 2.49. We should do some kind of tomato swap for those who wish to try tomatos that they cannot find locally? I will take some pics of the cans I have for reference when I get home tonight. As far as a swap goes, I am a musician and spend much of my time on a music forum where we do similar things with guitar effects pedals, where we ship them around to those who arent able to try them out where they live, it is however done on a trust basis, because some of these things are quite expensive.

mykall · « **Reply #28 on:** October 25, 2008, 09:56:58 PM »

Are all "ROA" labeled cans the same tomatoes regardless of brand? I've got two completely different brands from different stores and both are so labeled on top of the can.

scott r · « **Reply #29 on:** October 26, 2008, 01:43:45 AM »

yes!

widespreadpizza · « **Reply #30 on:** October 26, 2008, 02:35:51 AM »

At market basket in new hampshire, the ROA's are called joseph russo, or gusseppi russo on the other side of the label. They do not stock the cento's uncrushed. They recently went up from 2/3.00 to 1.99ea. Worth every penny still, recent batches have been very good! -marc

Frankie G · « **Reply #31 on:** October 26, 2008, 09:18:54 AM »

As a pizza lover and a man of Italian heritage... I may get smacked for this... but

While Cento makes a great product... I like stanislaus tomatoes MUCH better.

In fact, I have not tasted a san marizano product that I like better than stanislaus tomatoes.

mykall · « **Reply #32 on:** October 27, 2008, 12:50:17 PM »

My local grocery has both the "ROA" Centos and the ones pictured above that have the STC designation on them. I forgot to check which, but one of them was roughly $2 more per can.

kadio · « **Reply #33 on:** October 30, 2008, 05:52:57 PM »

I found at a shop some Cento pizza sauce, it was made in NJ, it had oil (can't remember which) but no olive for sure. The cans looked very old, and could not see any expiration date, so I did not buy any. How can I tell if they are good? try them? There are some numbers on top of them, but did not say anything to me.

JConk007 · « **Reply #34 on:** November 07, 2008, 03:13:50 PM »

OK
So, I too found the Cento with the ROA on top $2.38 / can and the Cento DOP cert @ $4.25 / can, ouch! I bought 4 of the san marzano roa (can #2 in previous post) to do the compasison. Each time I will open 1 can ROA stamped cento as the benchmark and compare with 1 of either DOP Cento, Turrosso, and 1 other.
they also had the Formanos? which I did not pick up. Picture showed them as whole not plum. I'll post the results 1st test tommorrow night. Still warm here in Jersey so look for the smoke!
So many pizzas so little time

John

JConk007 · « **Reply #35 on:** November 09, 2008, 10:45:41 AM »

Ok heres my 2 cents on centos so far.I did a blind tast test on the DOP versus the san marz label and I must say I prefered the DOP they seemed less bitter a touch smaller and smaller seeds too. More comparisons to come anybody try thes other brands? heres a marg with the dop

scott r · « **Reply #36 on:** November 11, 2008, 09:41:42 PM »

was the san marzano (not the dop) in a ROA coded can?

Either way it doesn't surprise me. I have found that from year to year everything changes and I end up finding a new brand for my favorite.

mykall · « **Reply #37 on:** November 12, 2008, 10:27:32 PM »

Jconk007,

That's a nice looking pie! You didn't mention if the Rosa's were ROA stamped, and what you thought of the tuttarosos. A little while ago, I used Tuttaroso crushed and I wasn't all that impressed, but there could be a difference in the whole. I'm also wondering if anyone has used a brand I saw a Kroger called Del Alpe?

anton-luigi · « **Reply #38 on:** November 12, 2008, 10:47:24 PM »

My local grocery store did have DOP Cento San Marzano's, but of course stopped carrying them soon after I started buying them. They now carry Dell Alpe DOP San Marzano's 28oz cans for 4.99, as well as a cheaper Dell Alpe "Pomodori Pelati Italiani" They are labeled as imported from Italy, grown and packed in Italy, 28oz cans are 2.99. They are usable, but not as good as the Cento in my opinion.

JConk007 · « **Reply #39 on:** November 13, 2008, 09:35:11 AM »

Scott,
Yes the San Marzano non DOP were in the ROA can.
I have not tried the Rosa or the Tutorrossa Yet I will be doing side by side (Blind again) against the cheaper better? ROA Centos.. But at $2.99 for DOP I plan to grab a bunch. Trying to develope my taste buds as I sample various pies in the area and create different sauces for topping. Go Figure? I could not stand tomatoes, Pizza.. as a kid ! Now I am cracking open cans and testing cold peeled plum tomatoes? and addicted to pizza? Is this normal or shall I seek help?