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It’s that time of the year again! The leaves are turning colour, the mornings are crisper, kids are back to school and possibly best of all, it’s harvest time! Across the world, farmers and novice gardeners alike are spending lots of time outside tending to their gardens and harvesting the last of the produce in hopes of preserving canned goods for the cold winter months.    

This is the ideal time of the year to harvest tomatoes and turn them into delicious pasta sauce. Did you know that in Southern Ontario, we grow San Marzano Style tomatoes with seeds from Italy?

In today’s blog post we will share more about the best tomatoes for canning, an essential kitchen tool and a few canned goods we recommend to always keep in your pantry.

Roll up your sleeves, and let’s get into it!

San Marzano Tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes have earned a reputation for their exceptional quality and are a staple ingredient in Italian cuisine. Whether you're cooking up a classic marinara sauce or a hearty ragù, the unique characteristics of San Marzano tomatoes can elevate your dishes to a whole new level of flavour and authenticity.

San Marzano tomatoes are a type of plum tomato that is highly regarded for its excellent flavour, firm texture, and low seed count. These tomatoes are considered by many to be one of the best tomatoes for making sauces, particularly pasta sauces and pizza sauces.

San Marzano tomatoes originated in the town of San Marzano sul Sarno in the Campania region of southern Italy. The volcanic soil in this area, combined with the region's climate, is believed to contribute to the exceptional flavour of these tomatoes.

They appear elongated and have a pear-like shape. They are larger and more oblong than the typical round tomato, with fewer seeds and less water content. The skin is thin and smooth, which makes them ideal for sauces. San Marzano tomatoes are known for their sweet and rich flavour, which is balanced by a slightly tangy undertone. Their flesh is dense and meaty, with fewer seeds and less juice compared to other tomato varieties.

Due to their low moisture content and minimal seeds, San Marzano tomatoes are often preferred for canning and processing. Their meatiness means they can be easily transformed into sauces without becoming overly watery. San Marzano tomatoes are prized for making pasta sauces, pizza sauces, and other tomato-based dishes. Their concentrated flavour and low moisture content contribute to rich and flavorful sauces that require less cooking time to thicken.

An Essential Kitchen Tool

If you’re planning to perform any canning this harvest season, look no further than the Spremipomodoro Tomato Strainer to make your job a whole lot easier.

Whether you call it a tomato squeezer, tomato press, tomato strainer, tomato mill, or as it’s known in Italy, a spremipomodoro. This machine is essential if you want to make tomato sauces from fresh tomatoes like Nonna does!

Choose from hand-powered or electric models that can easily separate the skin and the seeds, while also pressing down the pulp to get out all that delicious tomato flavour in a fine puree sauce.

The best part is that these wonderful machines are not just limited to tomatoes!

These machines can separate the seeds, peels, and stringy stuff from a lot of fruits and vegetables. You can use your spremipomodoro to create juices, sauces, purees, chutneys, salsas, soups, jams, marmalades, and preserves.

Next time you’re in-store, ask one of our experienced staff members to show you how to use one. We believe this tool to be indispensable in any kitchen!

VIEW OUR SEASONAL TOMATO ITEMS

Pantry Essentials

Whether you’re rushing home to cook dinner on a weeknight or are not feeling up to the task, having essential ingredients in the pantry that are versatile and easy to turn into a delicious meal is a must for every busy, modern family.

For us, that is most true of canned San Marzano tomatoes.

Having tomato sauce stored in the pantry can be convenient and practical for quick and easy meal preparation. Canned tomatoes are a versatile ingredient that form the base for a wide range of dishes, from pasta sauces to soups and stews.

We always recommend Martelli San Marzano Tomatoes or Strianese San Marzano Tomatoes.

Martelli San Marzano Tomatoes - The Queen of all tomatoes, this highly sought-after tomato is perhaps most notable in Neapolitan-style pizzas and pasta sauces.  Its orange-red velvet texture is the signature of its class and DOP status.

Strianese San Marzano Tomatoes – These DOP San Marzano tomatoes from the Sarnese Nocerino area of Italy are prized for their fantastic, full flavour. A true chef's favourite!

You can find all of these options online or on our shelves next time you’re in-store, so be sure to stock up!