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We've heard it all before. San Marzanos are the best canned tomatoes in the world, the crème de la crème, the gold standard by which all others must be judged. Back in the day, hunting down a can of them took time and effort; nowadays, you'll find a few different varieties on the shelves in most supermarkets. And that's a good thing, right? After all, San Marzanos are famous for their sweetness and their tomato-ey intensity, plus a delicate acidity that can balance out rich meats and cheeses. But is the San Marzano reputation more hype than fact? We pitted store-bought varieties of canned whole tomatoes (including San Marzanos and plain old plum tomatoes) against each other in a blind taste test.
Since no one really likes the taste of whole tomatoes straight from the can, I prepped all five varieties we tested in the same way: I crushed the whole tomatoes by hand, stirred in 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and simmered them for 25 minutes. Each variety of cooked tomato was placed into separate numbered tasting bowls for a blind tasting with the Epi staff. We immediately started making a mess of ourselves, slurping sauce to assess acidity, sweetness, and texture, and cleansing our palates between bites with bread.
We assumed that, unlike peanut butter, there wouldn't be a whole lot of variation among canned tomatoes. One tomato in a can should be like, well, a tomato in a can. But it turned out that comparing can to can was a lot more like comparing apples to, say, aardvarks.
The biggest surprise? Which brand came out on top.
The Runners Up
This commonly available organic supermarket brand uses a similar breed of tomato as the classic San Marzano, but it's grown in California rather than the San Marzano region of Italy. It had just the right amount of sweetness, testers said, but fell a little flat in overall acidity. Most editors picked this one as a prime choice for making marinara and it came in second place to the winner.
BUY IT: MUIR GLEN San Marzano-Style Whole Peeled Tomatoes, $13 on Amazon
You’ve probably seen this variety in the white can with just “San Marzano” written on the side. Tasters loved the clean, authentic tomato taste, and Senior Editor Anya Hoffman felt a little vindication when she chose this variety as her favorite in the blind test (it's the kind she uses at home).
BUY IT: San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes, $10 on Amazon
This organic variety was one of two canned tomato varieties we tested that didn't contain calcium chloride as a preservative (the other was the ultra-fancy Gustarosso brand below). Senior Writer Sam Worley picked this variety as the most balanced, while other tasters pointed out a lively acidity that in some cases, went a little too far. Test Kitchen Assistant Kat Boytsova didn't see that as a downside—she suggested using the acidic tomatoes to your advantage by braising them with tougher cuts of meat.
BUY IT: Cento San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes, $4 from Target
If canned tomatoes were cars, this imported Italian variety would be like the Ferrari: Fancy, flashy, and almost triple the price of the others. What makes this variety so special? First off, it's the San Marzano variety of tomato, famous for its rich flavor, tender texture, and mild acidity. What's more, they're actually grown in Italy, in the Valle de Sarno region, the only place where San Marzano tomatoes can earn the coveted "Pomodoro S. Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino" label and meet the E.U.'s standards for "D.O.P.," or a "designation of protected origin". Even setting aside the label, as soon as I opened the can, I could tell these these tomatoes were different. They were the softest, and when they were cooked, they almost immediately collapsed into a smooth sauce.
Sounds pretty dreamy, right? Wrong. Surprisingly, these tomatoes were almost universally disliked, with complaints about bland flavor and an “awful mushy texture.” Perhaps they'd be more tempting when tossed with pasta, but on their own, these San Marzanos let us down.
BUY IT: Gustarosso San Marzano Tomatoes, $7 on Amazon
Our Top Pick
This US-owned company (all of the tomatoes are grown on family-owned farms in Indiana) delivered on what we always wanted: a pure tomato flavor with a balance of acidity and sweetness. Sam loved that this variety was “sweeter than some of the others, but sort of a nice jammy sweetness.” Aside from being the best canned tomatoes we tried, these were also the cheapest. You know that one about books and covers? Turns out that goes double for tomatoes and labels. (Note: In some parts of the country Redpack is sold as Red Gold.)
BUY IT: Redpack Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes (12 Pack), $36 on Amazon
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