Tinned Plum Tomatoes
If you like cooking with tinned tomatoes here is an interactive tin, with tin information, on every tin, I have managed to find in Britin.
– Brand
– Average price
– Tomato content
– Juice content
– Stabiliser
Findings of note:
No tin boasts higher than a 65% tomato ratio, I suspect this is simply due to not being able to fit more into a tin before smushing the tomatoes.
Not all tins tell you their tomato to juice ratios – for instance I contacted Mutti and they actually use their tomato puree instead of tomato juice, but they don’t say anything about that on their tin.
Below I will go into a bit more detail for each tin and give some recipes.
List is WIP.
Mutti – £1.50
9/10 – Quality, consistency, and availability.
It should be everyone’s go to. It’s right there in the supermarket next to the shit ones. It’s only 50p or £1 more. It’s always worth it. Never lets you down. The juice is like passata, minuscule skin rate, tomatoes always taste good, never tinny.
That’s why it’s a top tin and always will be.
I’ll eat a whole tin of these straight outta the tin for a treat.
How I used my tin: Pappa al Pomodoro
Slumlord of the soups. Olive oil in a pot. Cook some garlic. I like to add my basil stems too, get them infused in the oil, then remove. Add a tin of Mutti. Squish the plums up with a wooden spoon, then refill the tin with warm water and dissolve half a stock cube in it (optional) water is fine. Cook this for a bit. Then add stale bread. Ciabatta is best but any proper bread works fine. As long as it’s not shitty bread. Let that bread become soggy in the soup, it will thicken it up. Then, once it’s how you like it. Take it off the heat and grate some parmesan in.
Mix it in. Put it in a bowl. Basil on top and more parmesan. Very good.
Strianese San Marzano – £3
8.5/10 – A lovely tin.
Aesthetically it’s nice. It’s proper Italian and feels proper Italian.
The jewels themselves taste good out of the tin. I suspect they go well in anything, I’ve also heard of pizza restaurants using them for their base, so they hold up undercooked. For me they don’t quite have that magic taste though, pricey too.
How I used my tin: Duck Ragu
Two duck legs. Fry them skin down in a pan you’ll use the whole way.
(I like to use a wide shallow tall sided pan.) Start cold, cook until skin is crispy, doesn’t need to be cooked through. Remove them from the pan. Add a simple soffrito. Knob of butter. Cook down. Add red wine. Cook down. Add 1 tin of Strianese. Stir in. Add chicken stock, preferably homemade. Then add the duck legs back in, and simmer for a minimum of 2 hours. Once ready. Take legs out. Strip them from the bone. Then add the shredded duck back into the sauce. Now cook it down to get to your desired consistency. If it gets too thick add splashes of chicken stock to get it where you want it.
Don’t forget to season throughout.
Pepper and a bay leaf. Dash of vinegar if you want to give it some spizz.
