‘Worthy of a toast topper' – the 50p tinned tomatoes that beat much pricier options
Which chopped tomatoes are pasta worthy? There are certainly enough to choose from. For this week's test of that most vital of store cupboard staples, I found 26 different cans to evaluate even once I'd ruled out the very finely chopped polpa. Time to call in help – in this case food writer Sam Goldsmith, author of The Tinned Tomatoes Cookbook (£18.99, Murdoch Books) who was unfazed by the prospect of so many cans. In fact, he loves them so much he says: 'Sometimes I toast some bread and rub on some garlic and a drizzle of oil, then top with either warmed tinned toms or just spoon them straight from the tin.'
The stakes have risen since I last tested tinned tomatoes back in 2022. The cheap ones just aren't the bargain they were, with the price of a budget-range tin rising from 28p to 39p, while the mid-range own-brand tomatoes have generally gone up from 40p to 47p. As the pricier ones generally have a thicker juice, they'll need less cooking down to make a decent sauce consistency, which makes the so-called budget tomatoes even less of a bargain. On the plus side, the economy tins tend not to have a plastic lining which which may contain chemicals called bisphenols that are linked to health issues.
As for additives, almost all the tins we tested contained citric acid, which is an industrial ingredient, not an extract of citrus fruit. Just two brands, Petti and Vero Pop, manage without.
None of the tinned tomatoes had any guarantees of good labour practices, despite reports of abuse of illegal immigrant workers on Italian tomato farms and processing plants. Mind you, many tins don't specify where the tomatoes are from, or say simply 'packed in Italy', which could mean they were grown anywhere. Let's hope that by the time I test again, there's more transparency from the tomato touts.
When it came to flavour, a fresh tomato zing with no bitter or metallic notes won out – and some of the supermarket versions did as well as the bougie brands. By and large though, Goldsmith suggests 'using posher tomatoes when it's for a quick cook sauce or when there's not going to be a lot of extra flavour added. Cheaper tomatoes are great for slow cooking or when you're packing it full of added flavours.' And for those tomatoes on toast, hit the high scorers.
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