Stocking Up On Canned Tomatoes? Here's Why It Pays To Buy Them Whole

Buying canned tomatoes in bulk makes brilliant sense. Perfect for making a quick herby marinara, whizzing into a soup, or bulking out a stew, this indispensable ingredient is super versatile and has a convenient lengthy shelf life. But the next time you're stocking up on canned tomatoes, consider buying whole toms rather than the chopped variety. This move will give you greater control of their final texture, allowing you to prep them in a variety of different ways.

While fresh tomatoes are your best bet for making textured salads, sandwiches, and salsa, canned options are often better for using in cooked dishes, like curries, sauces, and a baked shakshuka recipe. Moreover, canned tomatoes are picked and preserved at the height of the tomato season, guaranteeing that they'll be more flavorful than a fresh tomato bought out of season. Buying whole canned tomatoes means you can chop, crush, or puree them to fit with your recipe of choice, which gives you heaps more flexibility. For example, you can mash whole tomatoes down to make a no-cook pizza sauce, or chop them and use their accompanying juice to flavor a hunk of braised beef. The salt used to help preserve the tomatoes in many brands also magnifies their flavor and because they're peeled you won't need to spend time removing their finicky skins.

Yes, it's true that buying whole tomatoes and chopping them takes more time than using a tin of crushed tomatoes. However, the tender texture of whole plum or cherry tomatoes means they can be effortlessly mashed down quickly.

Did you know that preservatives, such as calcium chloride, are often added to chopped tomatoes during processing to help them retain their bite and structure? If you want to reduce the amount of chemicals in your diet you may prefer to purchase premium cans of whole tomatoes that are packed solely in their natural juice and don't contain ingredients like citric acid, or even any salt, like these imported Sanniti Song' E Napule DOP San Marzano ones sold in bulk on Amazon. This also means they have a softer texture and can virtually disappear into a marinara unlike chopped tomatoes that take longer to cook down.

Another thing to bear in mind is that cans of chopped or crushed tomatoes can be made from a mixture of many harvested tomatoes, which means each chunk could have a different level of sweetness. Whole tomatoes, on the other hand, include the entire fruit as is, which means you benefit from the natural flavor of the toms including their seeds and water. If you'd like a concentrated tomato sauce, simply cook down the juice in the can for a little longer to intensify its flavor and boost its thickness. Need a smooth passata? Blend your whole tomatoes in a processor and sieve to remove the excess water. For a richer finish, add a dollop of concentrated tomato paste.