RSSIs a Tomato Just a Tomato?
July 29th, 2008 by Dawn, Co-founder of Rouxbe
Over the last few months I have learned more about tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, where they come from, than I ever thought I would ever need to know.
For years, I have been making tomato sauce, you could even say it was one of “my things”. I have had many compliments on my tomato sauce and really thought I kind of had things “wrapped up” with the whole tomato sauce…on to bigger and better things right! Not so fast.
Since working with Tony Minichiello (does that name say Italian or what). I have learned heaps about the whole subject of tomatoes, whether pureed, crushed, diced, whole, fresh, canned etc.
In our sauce making part of the school we showed everyone how to make a really great staple tomato sauce. It really is yummy, you might even say, it’s changed me. It’s now my “go to” tomato sauce. I even get out the passatutto (Italian foodmill) and remove the seeds and everything. I think the reason I love it so much is not because of the sauce itself, it’s because it has made me respect and understand ingredients even more than I did before. It also really hit home that simple things with fewer “quality” ingredients are often better.
The ingredients are so important that we even go into detail to tell you about the type of tomatoes that you should use. We did a whole Drilldown on “Choosing Quality Canned Tomatoes” seeing as the tomatoes are the main event, they need to be of good quality…or do they? Being the skeptic that I am…and before we went and spent hundreds of dollars on filming, I wanted to be sure, so off to the test kitchen I went. I started with equal amounts of everything…from the onions and garlic, to the amount of tomato and seasoning, I even weighed them first just to make sure.
I wanted to see if it really does make a difference if you use cheaper tomatoes or the more expensive “San Marzano” tomatoes. After putting them through the passatutto, right away I noticed the consistency was completely different. The taste was also very different, the more expensive D.O.P. tomatoes had a much stronger tomato flavor with a much thicker consistency, even the color was a deeper fuller red.
After cooking them the flavor difference was harder to detect (at least for Joe it was). The consistency however was amazing. The cheaper tomatoes (and by cheap I don’t mean super cheap, they just weren’t “San Marzano” D.O.P. tomatoes)…anyways the cheaper tomatoes lacked the body and texture by quite a bit.
So after a million spoonfuls of tomato sauce, here was my final verdict. The San Marzano tomatoes are indeed better. Are they so good that I would spend and extra $2 to $4 dollars a can? Yes, but perhaps not always…unless of course I win the lottery. But if I was having guests over and I was making a tomato sauce, I would use the San Marzano everytime. That being said, why wouldn’t I use them for myself? Maybe I would, after all I deserve it!
By the way, Is it just me or does anyone else always spell tomato with an “e” at the end…”toe”, I always have to delete the “e”, in fact I probably used the delete button about 20 times during this post…okay maybe it’s just me, but “tomatoe” is cute no?
Is there anything that you make that you really notice the difference when using different ingredients? Are you a die hard fan of fresh herbs over dried? Do you use a certain ingredient to make that special dessert? Or do you simply buy and use whatever is on sale?
You never really appreciate how really good a tomato can be until you’ve had a really good tomato. :-) There are a couple of places around here (Vermont) that greenhouse grow them in the winter. They are a little pricey, but the difference between one of those and one of the ones you can get in a store in March/April is stunning.
Dawn, before I replied, I had to go and look up your last name; to see why you were so impressed buy San Marzano tomatos, mine isn’t Minichiello, but it is equally Italian, both parents from Italy, etc. etc. etc. I laugh now when I see people in the States go nuts over Broccoli di Rabe, it was peasant food, kids, when I was growing up. San Marzano tomato’s had to be sent back to the States when we went to Italy on holiday until some really, really, risky importers finally found a market that would consistently purchase them. I use them as one of my secrets for my gravy “tomato” sauce with various types of meat. I can only image WHAT people would think about eating dandelion greens (with eggs and potatoes) more peasant food from my parents.
But back to the gravy, no one can understand how I get the consistency or the flavor of my gravy. Part of it is the San Marzanos, part of it is the use of the passatutto (which I could NEVER understand why my mom made us sit/stand and crush the whole tomato’s, couldn’t they be BOUGHT that way!!!) now, of course I understand, the less processed, the better the flavor of the ingredient, but at 7 you really don’t get it, and part of it was making it one day, letting the meats, FRESH herbs, tomatos cook and the ingredients and flavors marry. Then allowing it to cool down to room temperature and cook and let the flavors come together again on another day. Fresh herbs were pretty much unknown in the days when I was growing up (I’m early 40s) we had to grow them, which we did. But then again my mom was way way ahead of the curve. Which is why my sisters and I are very finicky cooks especially when it come to ingredients. We were the only kids of non-vegetarian parents to eat wheat germ. It was the buckwheat pancakes that did me in. Especially after getting really incredible Italian food on a regular basis. Like homemade manicotti crepes. Beautiful, light, delicate. You could see through them and they made amazing manicotti, especially with the gravy. Oh, youth is wasted on the young. Other personal favorites are Fresh herbs, real fresh lemon or lime juice, not from the plastic bottle, real olive oil either italian or greek, personally I prefer vegetables from the farmers market, not only to support the local growers, but for the quality and lack of contaminants. I know people that buy pesto. How bloody lazy. Nothing is easier to make. IT IS MADE WITH BASIL AND IT IS NOT MADE WITH PARSLEY, EVER. NOR IS IT MADE WITH WALNUTS. IT IS MADE WITH PINIOLI NUTS. THAT IS THE CHEAP WAY OUT. PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION. Think I’m a little adamant about it? Yes. Never ever ever. I use Ghiradelli chocolate chips to make the kids cookies. The things you buy on sale are cleaning fluid, paper towels, toilet paper, not FOOD. Food is love.
P.S. my niece always puts the “e” in tomato. She says it makes sense. She is 6. Sometimes kids see the truth and the light of day soooo much better than adults.
Ok folks- Is a tomato a fruit (as I think) or is it a vegtable?
I presume the reason you are naturally inclined to use an ‘e’ at the end is that is how it is spelt in the plural.
I read some years ago that tomatoes in themselves were not great to eat raw or rather did not do any good, but apparently when heated they release some sort of vitamin that is very good - anyone know what this is?
My favourite is the British Santini- a small cherry like sweet tomato- its lovely for Brushetta.
Julie I love the passion in your response. I am in for dinner anytime you ask!
Your family sounds lucky…and your niece sounds smart :-)
As for me being Italian, I only wish. The true me is inside of a “Big Fat Italian Nonna” http://blog.rouxbe.com/what-some-girls-aspire-to-be/
When you mentioned cleaning fluids, and paper towels are the things that should be bought on sale, it reminded me of Spain. I was lucky enough to go there this year for Christmas, and I found it very eye opening.
I was a nanny there years ago when I was 19, but that is a whole different story for a different blog…maybe called “stories of looking after crazy rich peoples kids”.
Anyways going back older and much more into food I was amazed at how much they respect food there. I also found it fascinating to grocery shop. It was like going to the museum for me.
One big thing I noticed was the paper towel/toilet paper aisle. There were only a few choices when it came to toilet paper, each about 10 cents different in price. Really no choice, as it’s not a big item for them, they care only about what goes into the body and not what…you get it!
So when you stroll over to the yogurt aisle or the Jamon (ham) aisle…well…it will make your head spin. They treat food like it is indeed life. They are not always looking for the quick fix.
I even noticed that the large grocery stores have great cafes attached with fabulous pastries and amazing coffee and drinks. Families came to shop and hang out, making it an event, rather than a chore.
Needless to say I was in heaven. I love shopping in Europe, it is an entirely different experience.
Michael, I believe you are correct; the tomato is technically a fruit. The ancient Romans called them “love apples”. If the tomato guy at the the farmer’s market re-labels his product as such, I can imagine the line-ups being even longer than they are now. And does anyone else share a fascination and appreciation for the heritage tomatoes? (Note the “e” in the plural.) I love those wild colours and shapes, and the taste totally rocks.
And btw, spelt is an ancient grain, pre-dating our modern wheat by many thousands of years. I think you meant to write “spelled”; but hey, you’re staying in the food world, even with a word mistake!
I am also SO not Italian, ergo, I need some help here. How does a passatutto work? Is it better than using a sieve and the back of a wooden spoon?
PS I’m also free for dinner anytime!
Okay, Michael, you are very correct according to my 8th grade science teacher. A tomato is a fruit; the seeds are inside, hence it is a fruit, as is an avocado. My former paralegal from the West Indies used to refer to avocados as fruit all the time…It stooped me, but is technically correct.
Anyway, a passatutto operates on the same basis as food mill. I’ve never used a sieve and wooden spoon, but would bet it would function just fine. You could probably fit more tomatoes in the passatutto than the sieve, but, I’m not sure.
I think, Rosalie, by heritage tomatos, you are referring to heirloom? tomatos? amazing variations different colors and shapes and highly non-uniform? Perhaps in different areas they are called different things; wouldn’t shock me.
Anyway, how does everyone feel about Mozzarella di bufala? My favorite prep is with fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, ripe tomato, AND basil oil (I love the flavor of basil)…comments please. It’s after 5 EST I’m out of here. Speak to you tonight. Julie
Found and recently tested this new tomato mill. The passatutto we use in our video is also very good, but we found this new one to be quite good. You can pour in 4 28oz cans of tomatoes at once, it is a bit less messy, less noisy too and the hand crank is quite good. And of course it does a great job separating the tomato pulp from the skins and seeds. I also liked that it was high enough to place two bowls under the spouts.
http://www.cucinapro.com/page/culinary.html
(scroll down to the roma strainer on the right)
A few drawbacks:
1) it has a few more parts to store
2) it has two removable rubber washers (which they were just built into the design). I can see having to replace this every once in a while.
3) bit larger to store.
Aside from this, I think it was better than the one we used in our video. We might soon carry this product with the launch of a new online store - so stay tuned. Just need to do a bit more testing (and eating of course)..
I do like Mozzarella di bufala (which by the way sounds much sexier than simply “buffalo mozzarella), it is especially good with all of the ingredients you described with it.
I have had it a few times though when it has been too soft for my liking. It’s kind of like eating an undercooked poached egg….and by this I mean the “snotty” white part….sorry :-(
Is this due to them being really ripe? If I were to let it sit longer would it firm up a bit?
p.s. I also love basil oil, it’s like green liquid gold…so sexy, so yummy!
Dawn, from Julie:
Two reasons Mozzarella di bufala (speaking about sounding better, girl, you’d be a goner in Italy, the really yummy men and their accents would devour you), first of all, it is soft and fresh by it’s own nature; that is why some people complain it is difficult to cut. But if you use a small serrate tomato knife, it is much easier to do so. I’ll go for the difficulty and draw upon some patience, it’s worth it. However, when it has been out of the packaging container and held too long, but has not spoiled, it will also become exceedingly soft and of a icky texture. Kind of like poorly poached eggs.
Sounds like you’ve had some rough pouched eggs, they require a level of expertise most “breakfast” cooks can’t master. And I’m a big fan of poached eggs. Breakfast happens to be my favorite meal to prepare, on a snowy winter morning, with a fire lit in the hearth. And a couple of the kids (not mine) occupied elsewhere until I’m ready to serve. Poached eggs, omelettes, biscuits with herbs, pancakes for the kids, bacon (american and canadian) and SOMEONE ELSE to clean up! Take care, converting WordPerfect docs to Word for the rest of the evening rah rah!
Indeed Julie I have had some shady poached eggs in my day. I absolutely agree that most “breakfast” cooks struggle to even come close to mastering this meal.
I also love poached eggs, even had them for breakfast this morning, but they are something I rarely order when I go out for breakfast. That and omlettes, those are just not worth it. Of course, scrambled eggs is another one that restaurants can never seem to get right. I like them a bit soft with some moisture still left in them….and absolutely no brown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like we could be breakfast buddies! I also love to make it and I especially like to eat it.
Botanically a Tomato is a fruit but in the US a tomato is officially a vegetable. See the US Supreme Court ruling in Nix V hidden 1893.
I love it when someone corrects my spelling – the first love letter I got from my now wife contained 19 corrections to spelling and grammar mistakes that I had made in the letter I sent her. I always take it as a good sign, there will be no blood spilt.