The Italian Pantry: Canned Tomatoes

A can of tomatoes is a can of possibility

Canned Tomatoes by Jordan Mackay

A can of tomatoes is a can of possibility. More than any other item in your kitchen - a clove of garlic, a jar of mustard, a slice of ham - a can of tomatoes, that ultimate bringer of umami, is the base for a vast range of foods. We reflexively think of tomatoes as a vegetable, but they are fruits and satisfy desires by bringing fruity sweetness to savory dishes and savory intrigue to sweeter environments. It can be a pizza topping, a Bloody Mary, a silky soup, and a pasta sauce so delicious and irresistible that you could eat it every day and never get bored. This versatility is indicative of the modern canned tomato's literal and figurative origins in our culinary firmament. It's the ultimate American-Italian product; it originated in the Americas, went to Italy, and returned to us as a staple of both cuisines.

While many of us understandably associate the tomato with Italy, that's not where it originated. In the early 16^th century, Spanish conquistadors introduced the tomato to Europe, having discovered it in the Americas, where it was domesticated from wild plants found in (now) Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, first by the Incas and later by the Aztecs. Historians credit the latter civilization with breeding what were initially small, tart, and hardy light-colored fruits into the sweeter, redder versions we know today.

By the middle of the 16th century, the tomato plant was grown decoratively in continental gardens. Europeans first received tomatoes suspiciously, as they resembled the poisonous plant, the belladonna. Over time, Europeans got the hang of consuming tomatoes by necessity, as famines in the middle of the 18th century forced people to scrounge for calories, including the tomato, which was thriving and proliferating in the hot, dry climates of Sicily and Campania. The first documented recipe for pasta and tomato sauce doesn't appear until the middle of the 19^th century.

In the meantime, the Americans were going bonkers for the tomato, as stateside industrialization led to farming, breeding, and canning technologies that would revolutionize the plant. For a good century or so, the U.S. and Italian industries developed in parallel. The tomato's apotheosis as a red-sauce superhero began in the late 1800s with waves of Italian immigrants into the U.S., who seized on the inexpensive canned tomato for their facsimile of Italian cuisine. Before that (and still today), the tomato's chief use was in ketchup.

Today, Italy is celebrated for its famous breeds - the Pisanello from Tuscany and the San Marzano from Campania – which have distinctive shapes, colors, and flavors. The U.S. is right there, too, with its Beefsteaks, Sungolds, and Early Girls. When it comes to canned goods, however, varieties are less critical, as cooking the tomatoes homogenizes some of their distinctions (shape, color, and, to a degree, flavor), and cooking is part of the canning process.

If you've never canned your own tomatoes at the peak of summer, we highly recommend it. It's an easy and collaborative process that can be accomplished over a few joyous afternoon hours, sharing a bottle or two of cold white wine. The result will be a cherished supply of vibrant, punchy pantry jars to last you through the long winter and spring.

Shopping for canned tomatoes can be a bit maddening, given the myriad brand choices, formats, and price. Brand and price change from store to store, so for your pantry, it's good to have an idea of your preferred formats of canned tomatoes, of which there are many: whole peeled, whole unpeeled, diced, crushed, and as purée, paste, or sauce.

So which should you use? For the greatest flexibility and authenticity, go with whole peeled tomatoes. Yes, they may be big, round, and firm, but if you're using them for a sauce, they quickly break down in a pot with aggressive prodding and stirring. Diced or chopped tomatoes sound good on paper, but they are typically slower to melt, given that most are treated with calcium chloride to preserve their firmness. Crushed tomatoes are a mixed bag but generally quite useful. Tomato purée - called passata in Italy - can be useful for a quick, silky sauce. Tomato paste, a thick, concentrated tomato sauce made from very ripe tomatoes, is eternally useful as it adds a ton of concentrated, thickening, and flavor intensity to any dish, tomato-based or otherwise. Now that it comes easily dispensable in toothpaste-like tubes, which are far more efficient than those little cans, tomato paste has never been handier.