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San Marzano Tomatoes DOP


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Question for pennbrew or calipoutine:

What's the salt content on the La Valle tomatoes?  I like them not too salty.  Hoping someone can read a can label for me!  Thanks.

Lots of discussion about San Marzanos here:

Discussion of San Marzanos

To the OP, I've found the best place to order DOP San Marzanos (LaValle brand) here:

Best and most economical DOP San Marzanos

---Guy

Good question - I was wondering the same thing, but assumed (and hoped) they were low-sodium, which seems to be typical of authentic San Marzano tomatoes.

Ok, I made the trek down to the basement to grab a can. This is what the can says

Serving size 3 piece( spelled peice) servings per container about 6

calories 20

fat 0

sodium 15mg, so basically a can would have 75mg of sodium.

btw, these are not DOP, but I was still happy with them.

Thanks a lot for the info.

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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Thanks from me also. The La Bella are low sodium also, 20 mg/serving. Some of the good quality canned tomatoes I've run across have been as high as 400 mg/serving, too much for my tastes.

Question for pennbrew or calipoutine:

What's the salt content on the La Valle tomatoes?  I like them not too salty.  Hoping someone can read a can label for me!  Thanks.

Lots of discussion about San Marzanos here:

Discussion of San Marzanos

To the OP, I've found the best place to order DOP San Marzanos (LaValle brand) here:

Best and most economical DOP San Marzanos

---Guy

Good question - I was wondering the same thing, but assumed (and hoped) they were low-sodium, which seems to be typical of authentic San Marzano tomatoes.

Ok, I made the trek down to the basement to grab a can. This is what the can says

Serving size 3 piece( spelled peice) servings per container about 6

calories 20

fat 0

sodium 15mg, so basically a can would have 75mg of sodium.

btw, these are not DOP, but I was still happy with them.

Thanks a lot for the info.

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Thanks from me also.  The La Bella are low sodium also, 20 mg/serving.  Some of the good quality canned tomatoes I've run across have been as high as 400 mg/serving, too much for my tastes.
Question for pennbrew or calipoutine:

What's the salt content on the La Valle tomatoes?  I like them not too salty.  Hoping someone can read a can label for me!  Thanks.

Lots of discussion about San Marzanos here:

Discussion of San Marzanos

To the OP, I've found the best place to order DOP San Marzanos (LaValle brand) here:

Best and most economical DOP San Marzanos

---Guy

Good question - I was wondering the same thing, but assumed (and hoped) they were low-sodium, which seems to be typical of authentic San Marzano tomatoes.

Ok, I made the trek down to the basement to grab a can. This is what the can says

Serving size 3 piece( spelled peice) servings per container about 6

calories 20

fat 0

sodium 15mg, so basically a can would have 75mg of sodium.

btw, these are not DOP, but I was still happy with them.

Thanks a lot for the info.

I think La Bella San Marzanos were the first ones I ever tried and I really liked them. I bought them for a long time, then the store changed to another brand, which was also good. Recently, I moved to NC, where I cannot find them at all, so I have to order them. Now I have to decide which ones to order, the La Valle or La Bella!

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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  • 2 months later...
From everything I have read, the whole key to the taste of the San Marzanos is that they are grown in the soil of San Marzano, which apparently possesses unique characteristics as it is volcanic soil (or at least partly).  As such, to me, buying the non-D.O.P. versions are a waste of money, not necessarily any better than good quality imported canned tomatoes (and maybe not even that good).  There is nothing special about having a cannery in San Marzano from what I can tell.

Regarding the sentence emphasized above, is this indeed the case?

I just bought a can of La Valle, not the DOP, at Balducci's which now carries both types. I know, just a dollar difference in price, but I had just splurged on a lot of Prosciutto San Daniele. I should have read the label more critically.

I am looking at my purchase now. While the label for the DOP's, of course, is very explicit about the one place in San Marzano where the tomatoes are grown, this can has the words "San Marzano" plastered across the swelling, sweating bottoms of the tomatoes pictured.

Does that just glorify the place's plants? It's a bit like "Bottled at Chateau d'Affite" on wine whose grapes come from hither and Jan? Or is the elongated type of saucing tomato with a pear-like shape being "branded"--sort of like saying "San Marzano" instead of "Italian plum" tomatoes?

In small print on the sides it says <<Pomodori pelati prodotti in Italia a norma di legge>> and in large letters on front, those peeled tomatoes are called "Italiani.*" This suggests the tomato and processing plants could be anywhere in Italy and that La Valle is conforming to legal standards of manufacturing their product.

*As opposed to the olives in the EVOO imported from Italy that come from Tunisia, Spain, Greece, etc. Someone told me Italy imports more olives than any other country in the world.

Edited by Pontormo (log)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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