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Fresh Baby San Marzano tomatoes


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Tomatoes in May!  Not grown locally methinks.  How many food miles?

I wait untill high summer then pick them fresh from my allotment.

Those are from Sicily. I have tried to grow my own San Marzano in London with poor result (it needs real mediterranean sun).

However, I did grow with good results the "Principe borghese" variety.

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Tomatoes in May!  Not grown locally methinks.  How many food miles?

I wait untill high summer then pick them fresh from my allotment.

I have been taking delivery from a local grower (Dedham, Essex) for the past two months of 'cocktail tomatoes' (a little larger than normal cherry vines) which he grows in a greenhouse with a little additional heat and nothing else added. Really red, soft and sweet. He also grows them for M&S.

bakerestates

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No luck involved. Just lots of hard work.

We grow just about everything: cherries, strawberries, plums, onions, potatoes, leeks, corn, leeks, parsnips. chard, herbs, etc.

You name it, we grow it. We think it is important that our children realise that potatoes come out of the ground with dirt on them; that tomatoes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Supermarket packaging drives me to dispair, as do green beens from Kenya.

It's all organic naturally.

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Sainsburys has stocked San Marzano for a a couple of years now - there might be an old and shocked post of mine somewhere about. Although I'm thankful, I don't think they're of a very high quality. Still, beggars and all that...

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Carlovski Posted Today, 03:07 AM

  Could they even be called San Marzano if they weren't from Italy? Aren't they DOC protected?

San Marzano is the variety, however this particular one is not even a real San Marzano. The seeds are called Baby San Marzano but must be a close relative because the form and the scarce seeds contenent make it very similar. Also the only area for the DOP is below the Vesuvio, near Naples whilst these come from Sicily.

I have never found San Marzano in London but at Borough market, and even those one were from Sicily.

Edited by Pizza Napoletana (log)
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Could they even be called San Marzano if they weren't from Italy?  Aren't they DOC protected?

On cans, DOP indicates the tomatoes were grown in designated areas, such as the fields of Sarnese Nocerino for one brand.

The same brand processes and sells tomatoes it labels as San Marzano, but indicates only that the peeled fruit is produced in Italy under legal/legislated conditions: "Pomodori pelati prodotti in Italia a norma di legge." These cans do not bear the "DOP" seal.

Because of the reputation of tomatoes from San Marzano, near Naples, seeds from the plants were brought over to California and grown there. Cans of these processed plum tomatoes are packaged deceptively with the Italian words "Pomodori pelati" and "San Marzano" repeated around the entire can, framing a drawing of a distinctively elongated pear-shaped plum tomato. The US manufacturer wants you to believe the product is Italian. You may see them on your shelves soon now that the supermarket Whole Foods is becoming the new Starbucks and venturing into London.

San Marzano tomatoes are discussed several threads such as this.

* * *

I don't understand the virtue of "baby San Marzano" tomatoes. Are they grown locally in a greenhouse? Our farmers's markets have plenty of tiny pear-shaped "cherry" tomatoes that come in red, yellow and orange shades. They're very sweet, but do not have the characteristically thick flesh of plum tomatoes; they also have more juice and more seeds.

Edited by Pontormo (log)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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No luck involved.  Just lots of hard work.

We grow just about everything: cherries, strawberries, plums, onions, potatoes, leeks, corn, leeks, parsnips. chard, herbs, etc.

You name it, we grow it.  We think it is important that our children realise that potatoes come out of the ground with dirt on them; that tomatoes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Supermarket packaging drives me to dispair, as do green beens from Kenya.

It's all organic naturally.

Off topic. Very admirable (not 30-something irony intended) and interesting. One thing I am curious about is how do you cope with the monotony of mid-winter?

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I have never found San Marzano in London but at Borough market, and even those one were from Sicily.

Carluccio's in Neal St currently has tomatoes labelled San Marzano at £6.00 a kilo. Didn't look that exciting to me (and I'm pretty sure the box they are displayed in had a Sicilian address- though I may be wrong on that.)

gethin

Edited by gethin (log)
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