You may not know it, but the gorgeous red fruit we call the tomato, so ubiquitous in Italian cooking, actually originated in the Americas.
In fact, it wasn’t until the 1500s that the first tomato seeds arrived in Spain, spreading to Italy and the rest of Europe from there.
Initially, the fruits of the plant were thought to be toxic, and the plant was mostly used as an ornamental species in the gardens of Europe’s well-to-do. It wasn’t until 1692 that we found the first mention of cooking with tomatoes in an Italian cookbook.
Now there are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes. But one of the most prized of them all is the San Marzano tomato from Italy.
San Marzano tomatoes are a special variety of plum tomatoes that are prized for their rich flavor and very mild acidity. They are often used in classic Italian dishes such as marinara or bolognese sauce. However, it has been reported that a large percentage of canned tomatoes labeled as “San Marzano” in the United States are actually fake.(1)
According to the president of Consorzio San Marzano (Consortium for the Protection of the San Marzano Tomato Dell’agro Sarnese Nocerino), in 2011, only 5% of tomatoes sold in U.S. grocery stores as “San Marzano” were actually genuine2. This is because, much like a Chianti wine must be made in the Chianti region of Italy to be labeled as such, San Marzano tomatoes must be grown in the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino region of Italy’s Sarno Valley to earn their classification. (2)
So, most San Marzano tomatoes are actually San Marzano “style” and not the real Mcoy.
In essence, they are just plum tomatoes.
That’s why we exclusively use Stanislaus County tomatoes. Grown right here in the good ole USA.
Stanislaus County is home to a company called Stanislaus Food Products, which is known for producing high-quality tomato products1. Their products are made from ultra-premium plum tomatoes packed in “Naturale” style tomato juice, which gives them a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture with an exceptional real Italian flavor. Stanislaus Food Products is known as the “Real Italian” Tomato Company and their products are used by our chefs to create our signature pizza sauce, bursting with authentic Italian flavor. (3)
Sources:
https://thetakeout.com/how-to-distinguish-real-san-marzano-tomatoes-from-impos-1848879029
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/san-marzano-tomatoes-fake
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