Classico Tomato Sauce

[neubs007]

In my local Wal-Mart they are now selling two kinds of Classico Ground Tomatoes.  One peeled and one unpeeled.  It claims there is no citric acid in it.  I couldn't really tell the difference between this and the 6-in-1.  They both cost $1.74.

[Pete-zza]

There is perhaps a good reason why the tomatoes taste like the 6-in-1s. At http://tomatoes.classico.com/where.aspx, you will see a reference to Heinz, which is the parent company of Escalon. I wonder whether Heinz is taking some of the Escalon products more broadly to the public.

Peter

[FeCheF]

I bought a few cans of classico peeled ground tomatoes, classico heavy tomato puree, and classico crushed tomatoes. I didnt see any cans of classico unpeeled tomatoes though. I thought the ground tomatoes made an excellent pizza sauce. The heavy tomato puree made and excellent orange bourbon BBQ sauce. And i havent tried the crushed tomatoes yet. IMO very good flavor, definitly no citric acid. I will be stocking up on these cans.

They also have a classico traditional pizza sauce in a small jar for $1.50 I bought a jar but havent opened it yet.

[chickenparm]

I have been wanting to try some of this,but my local stores do not carry it anywhere.

It seems,certain products are sold depending on location.Where I live, you can buy classico jar sauce,but thats about it.They do not sell any other brands or types.

[chickenparm]

I'm happy to say,our Wally World revamped itself and is now carrying new products that were not sold before.
 

They have added some cento,bell orto and classico products.

I have purchased some classico cans and Im happy to say the classico whole peeled tomatoes w/fresh basil is very good.I havent blended it up/or used it for a sauce yet,but straight out of the can,smells and tastes good for the money spent.My wife agreed,its good for what we can find locally,and without mail ordering.

I also have a can of classico crushed tomatoes,but have not opened it yet.I will post my opinion about it after trying it out.

[chickenparm]

I made a pizza today with the Classico crushed tomatoes.It was excellent.I did not add anything to the sauce,I used it straight from the can.It was that good for me.

This for a sauce, + whole milk mozz,the pie tasted just like one of my favorite Pizza shops when I lived in NY.The crust was a 3 or 4 day old bouncer HG flour dough.No pics,it looked just like other pies from the past.My wife tried some and was really impressed.I did sprinkle some oregano and garlic powder on top of the pie when it came out of the oven.

This sauce reminds me of 6 in 1's,but a tad bit sweeter.It might be due to the size of the cans.When I buy 6 in 1's,it is the number 10 can,which is all the store stocks.

This can is 28 oz.I have come to believe that even the same products,packed in different sizes,will taste a bit differently.I really thought these were so much like 6 in 1's,but I liked that it seems to have less skins than the unpeeled ground tomatoes in the cans do.
 

[Jet_deck]

I used the Classico crushed tonight in lasagna, just a dab of salt added.  I am no tomato connoisseur, but the family loved it.

[chickenparm]

I used the Classico crushed tonight in lasagna, just a dab of salt added.  I am no tomato connoisseur, but the family loved it.

Thats great to read about! Im no tomato expert myself,but I buy store brand can after can and taste them.The more I try,the more I learn what products are superior and tastes best.

Most of my experiences are store bought cans,something most of us can buy in a store, without mail ordering.I was really happy that I could buy these new products that were never sold before in my area.

[Pete-zza]

For those who are interested, today I called the 888 number on the label of the Classico crushed tomatoes that I recently purchased at Wal-Mart. Since the tomatoes taste a lot like the Escalon 6-in-1s, I wanted to find out whether the two products were the same product. As most of our members perhaps already know, the company that is behind both of the two products (Classico and Escalon) is Heinz. When I spoke with a customer service rep at Classico, she confirmed that fact. When I asked her whether the Classico product comes out of Escalon, she said yes. However, she said that while the two products are similar, and perhaps interchangeable, they are not identical. I had noticed this from looking at the two labels before I called. The Classico crushed tomatoes have a bit more salt (200mg sodium vs. 180mg sodium) and one gram more "sugars" (5g vs.4g). The rep emphasized that the Classico product is a separate product line. No doubt other Classico tomato products are similar to corresponding products produced by Escalon. For example, Wal-Mart also sells the Classico peeled and unpeeled ground tomatoes. I do not recall seeing those but they could have well been on the shelves at Wal-Mart. Next time I am at Wal-Mart's, I will have to check the labels to see whether they are closer to the 6-in-1s.

I did not have a can of 6-in-1s to do a side-by-side comparison with the Classico crushed tomatoes but such a test might be useful at some point. But I view all of this to be good news since it is likely to be far easier for our members to purchase the Classico tomato products from Wal-Mart as opposed to ordering 6-in-1s by mail order from the Escalon website.

Peter

[Chet]

  Peter

 I purchased a few can of each crushed and ground peeled tomatoes by Classico. and so far they are EXCELLENT, on par with the 6 in 1 and the 7/11 tomatoes, and the beauty is 28oz cans, the flavor on the Sicilian type pizza is wonderful, cannot ask for anything better, going to try them this weekend on NY style pizza, can't wait...


     Chet

[chickenparm]

Peter,

Thanks for posting the research you did.I did want to add a little bit tonight.

I found the classico ground and crushed tomatoes to be a little bit more watery than 6 in 1's.They taste great,but a few pies I made a sauce using classico products,I had some problems with the water pooling into the center from the sauce,while baking.I ended up with a few pies that had a wet,watery,soggy center.I do tend to use a bit more sauce at times,but I never had a problem with water pooling until I used these cans.

For those that do not know,many times,for an experiment,I will use the canned tomato products,straight out of  the can,poured into a bowl,nothing added,and use some of it for a sauce.I Usually add my oregano and garlic after the pie comes out,on top of the pie.

I do this,to help me narrow down the cans I want to work with most.That said,I really like the Classico brands in the cans.They taste great!I will do some more experiments to see if this happens again or not.

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

That is good information to have. Maybe someone will eventually do a side-by-side comparison with the 6-in-1s. BTW, the Classico crushed tomatoes seem to be the closest to the 6-in-1s in that they both have unpeeled tomatoes, extra heavy tomato puree, and salt. The Classico Peeled Ground Tomatoes comprise peeled ground tomatoes, extra heavy tomato puree, and salt (see http://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Peeled-Ground-Tomatoes-28-oz/19399876).

For my purposes, where I needed a fixed weight of the 6-in-1s to make a particular pizza sauce, like my clone of a Papa John's sauce, I used the method as described at Reply 33 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,6633.msg66292.html#msg66292 to remove some of the water. That method should also work with the Classico tomato products.

Peter

[finfan]

Hi All
I have been using the Classico peeled ground tomatoes for some time now as my pizza sauce. Although I usually add extra "goodies", I have used it straight from the can and the entire family agrees it has an awesome taste. Thank You Walmart!

[dmcavanagh]

Bell Orto is also a Heinz product, but my local stores only sell "diced" tomatoes and I didn't find them to be in the same class as 6-in-1's.

[FeCheF]

I have been using the classico peeled ground for my pizza sauce. I bought a few cans of the classico crushed tomatoes to test out for sauce texture,color and flavor was even better but i found it to be alittle bit liquidy so next time i dumped a whole can of the crushed into a mesh strainer and let it sit for an hour or two. 3/4 cup of almost clear water was left in the bowl underneath. With all the water drained out it was a bit too thick almost like a extra heavy tomato puree. What would be good to add to make it thinner without adding back the water that was drained as it tasted alittle acidy. I was thinking maybe a good wine but i dont want to cook the crushed tomatoes and i think wine without cooking down would give it a strong alcohol smell/taste. And i think olive oil would make it too oily.

I know if i drained less out would work, but its like if i know it can be removed i want to remove all the acidic liquid i can. If it had flavor i would leave it, but all it taste like is acidy water.

[Pete-zza]

I know if i drained less out would work, but its like if i know it can be removed i want to remove all the acidic liquid i can. If it had flavor i would leave it, but all it taste like is acidy water.

FeChef,

You might just try adding a good quality water, like spring water, to the drained tomatoes. Professionals who use heavy or concentrated canned tomato products mostly just add tap water to the tomatoes to get the consistency they want for their sauces.

Peter

[chickenparm]

Fe,

You can also add some tomato puree to thicken it back up some.That might just waste a can if you're not going to use much of it,but I have done it before.I would also add some of the puree with cans of whole tomatoes I crushed and drained myself.Makes for a excellent sauce base.

[FeCheF]

FeChef,

You might just try adding a good quality water, like spring water, to the drained tomatoes. Professionals who use heavy or concentrated canned tomato products mostly just add tap water to the tomatoes to get the consistency they want for their sauces.

Peter

Its crossed my mind to use spring water but i figured if i was adding something, i would try something with flavor. I really wanted to add some Chianti wine and make a marinara but i didnt want to cook it down.

Fe,

You can also add some tomato puree to thicken it back up some.That might just waste a can if you're not going to use much of it,but I have done it before.I would also add some of the puree with cans of whole tomatoes I crushed and drained myself.Makes for a excellent sauce base.

Problem there is i would have to waist a 28oz can of classico heavy tomato puree because it would be a disgrace to use another brand that sells smaller size cans.

[chickenparm]

Folks,

I opened another 28 oz can of classico crushed tomatoes today.I tasted it straight from the can and it was as always,excellent.I did notice it looks a bit watery as well.

I emptied the entire contents into a strainer and let it strain for maybe 35-40 minutes.When done, 5.1 ounces of water had drained out of it.
That is about 2/3 cup according to my container.The sauce is now the consistency I like to use.

I will do another test on the peeled ground tomatoes sometime this week.I recall it being a bit watery and want to see how much is going to be needed straining out of the next can.
 

[FeCheF]

I will do another test on the peeled ground tomatoes sometime this week.I recall it being a bit watery and want to see how much is going to be needed straining out of the next can.
 

Funny, every can of peeled ground i opened was thicker then the two cans of crushed ive used so far.

I was thinking instead of using water to thin it out, what about putting vegetables in a blender and squeezing out the juice like onions,celery,carrots, or green peppers.