%% Category::<h1><span class="material-symbols-outlined">join_right</span> </h1> %% <h1><span class="material-symbols-outlined">join_right</span>Not all tomatoes are created equal. </h1> Created: Tue, Sep 16th 2025 [[Canned Tomatoes]] are the tomato of choice for pizza sauce. Most, if not all canned tomatoes are picked, processed and canned in a 24 hour period, through the late summer harvest. Canned tomatoes are cooked during the canning process, so they don't need to be cooked again. This could easily point to why using canned tomatoes over fresh is generally preferred. Cooking anything will bring out more or less desirable tastes or textures, and not needing to execute this step of the process is a huge convenience. What's even more convenient is the storage capabilities of canned tomatoes, if properly done, they can be good for up to 5 years, with the first two being when they are still considered to be high quality. ### Acidity. An important part of the canning process is to ensure that there is a high enough acid level to inhibit the development of harmful bacteria. This is often added to the product in the form of lemon juice (for home canners) or citric acid. [[Citric Acid.md|Citric acid]] is actually extremely versatile and convenient to use. It for one it doesn't introduce any more water to the tomatoes and it is also concentrated so storage utilization is minimized. There are quite a few brands of canned tomatoes that don't use citric acid, some have only tomatoes listed as ingredients on the label, but these brands are most often from Italy. And while the country doesn't seem to determine whether or not salt is added, according to [[Canning tomatoes and tomato products.md|Oregon State University]] , salt is added for flavor only and not used to preserve the tomatoes. ### When in Roma. Most of the tomatoes used for canning that you see in the store are called Roma tomatoes although true Roma tomatoes are rarely grown, most plum shaped heirloom varieties are designated the name. Plum/Roma tomatoes are used because they contain less water and more pectin and fiber than others. ### Good old San Marzano. San Marzano is a *variety* of tomato, but it's also a D.O.P. The guidelines are strict as far as achieving the designation, including but not limited to them needing to be picked by hand, and only in a short window in the summer, from a small (60 square mile) area of the Campania region in Italy. More important for the subject of pizza making and their suitability for making sauce, is that they have less water and are more fleshy than other varieties of tomato. They are longer tomatoes, with thicker flesh and have a stronger, sweeter taste than many others. ![[Not all tomatoes are created equal-1758137454545.webp]] You can grow them anywhere and still put San Marzano on the label, but you can't put D.O.P on the label unless they have met the requirements. Which you would need to do in order to make a proper A.V.P.N pizza incidentally. In my opinion I think the reason they are so widely touted as the best tomatoes to make pizza sauce with is a few fold , especially when factoring in the D.O.P designation. 1. They have been used in the making of pizza, in the birthplace of pizza for centuries and are heavily linked with Naples style pizza. 2. The actual anatomy of them would suggest that they are indeed, genetically more apt for their use, due to the slender bodies naturally having a higher flesh to seed ratio. 3. If they are D.O.P you basically have a guarantee as to their very high quality as they are certified under closely monitored criteria. ## Summary. It is clear that the shape is possibly one of the more important factors involved in whether a tomato is suitable to be used for making pizza sauce or not. Not for any other reason than the more oval the shape, and in the case of the San Marzano, elongated; then the less the amount of seeds and consequently the more the amount of flesh. Along with their being more substance to give texture to the sauce and resultant pizza, flavors will be naturally concentrated, due their being less water. Additionally, tomatoes need to be skinless for the canning process, also ensuring that a smoother texture is achieved. All of these factors and the convenience of using canned tomatoes, with their long shelf life and ease of use, make canned tomatoes, especially Roma (plum) varieties the best thing to use for pizza sauce. Using D.O.P designated San Marzano tomatoes will provide a further guarantee of the highest quality tomatoes.