I am sorry, but this is hardly true. Unfortunately the name "San Marzano" is not protected outside Europe, so basically everybody can call their own tomatoes San Marzano. Nowadays it seems that many Americans think San Marzano is only a synonym for "good tomatoes" and not what they really are, a special cultivar of the Roma tomato grown in Vesuvian lava soil. Those real San Marzano tomatoes are NEVER crushed, pureed or diced, or even called "organic" (that word is not known in Italy). So whenever you read that on your can, it is a fake product, and you are about to pay too much for that seemingly cheaper product. You think you are saving money by paying less for a fake product, but it would actually be better to pay a bit more to get the real thing. Or go the accurate way and pay really less for the fakes. But don't pay a mid price for the fake products! Oh, and if they come in jars - they are not real either! Original DOP San Marzano tomatoes will only come in cans, and they will be whole tomatoes, maybe filets in rare cases, but nothing else. I have made side-by-side tests between brands for the last 3 years or so, and I found out that the most expensive brands were NOT the best choice! So price doesn't necessarily lead to to the best quality. Recently I paid an upscale price for a can of Solania San Marzano in a Williams Sonoma store, and they were a sad disappointment! The mid priced Dani Coop are (so far) my favourites, they have beaten all contestants so far, and they are certified and really coming from the Nocerino area. I get them online from http://www.Gustiamo.com (they are in NYC but I am not, so I need them to be delivered by UPS). Further reading here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/how-to-identify-real-san-marzano-tomatoes-153939 Under that above link you can find out more how to recognize fakes. Here a recent article from the NY Times which is also pretty enlightening in my opinion: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/the-real-san-marzanos/
