Tomato Talk

Canned tomatoes play the starring role in creating a robust, flavorful tomato sauce. Just as a casting director looks for that perfect actor for a major role in the latest blockbuster, excellent, quality canned tomatoes are the cornerstone of sauces that are the foundation for so many great dishes – from lasagna to spaghetti and so much more! Opting for the best canned tomatoes will greatly enhance your culinary creations and fill them with a depth and quality of flavor that will leave your dinner guests in awe. There are many canned tomato options out there, and we hope this Tomato Talk piece helps you make the best choice for your tomato sauce recipe.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Canned Tomatoes for Sauces

When you’re choosing the best canned tomatoes for sauces, there are several key factors to take into account – with color, consistency, texture, and flavor at the forefront. To ensure that you create a tomato sauce that will be the envy of the culinary world, or at least your home, use tomatoes with a firm, consistent texture. Mushy, broken tomatoes can dilute the sauce and make it watery and less flavorful. The flavor should be balanced as well. Tomatoes should be red ripe to ensure the flavor balance of sweetness and acidity.

Types of Canned Tomatoes for Sauces

There are many different types of canned tomatoes commonly used for sauces, including crushed tomatoes, whole peeled tomatoes, tomato puree, and diced tomatoes.

Crushed Tomatoes

Crushed tomatoes are made from whole tomatoes and are similar to puree, but with some seeds, peels, and perhaps some small pieces of tomato.  There are several types of crushed tomatoes from very thin with to quite heavy with lots of particulates. The thinner crushed brands are perfect for recipes that call for cooking down for hours. This type of canned tomato is perfect for making sauces that are more liquid-based and have a slightly chunkier texture. If you’re craving a creamy and comforting soup, check out our Shrimp and Tomato Bisque recipe that uses our crushed tomatoes to create a savory, delicious soup.

Whole Peeled Tomatoes

Whole peeled tomatoes are just as the name implies - whole, ripe tomatoes that have been peeled and cooked. These tomatoes provide an intense flavor to sauces and can be used in combination with other canned tomatoes or on their own. Whole peeled tomatoes have an intensely fresh tomato taste. They’re an excellent option, great for long-simmering recipes where you need the tomatoes to break down - like tomato soup, stews, or tomato sauce.  

Tomato Puree

Tomato puree is ideal for sauces that need to be smooth and creamy in texture. Tomato puree is fairly thick and made from concentrated tomatoes with no seasonings at all, not even salt.    It has a rich thick tomato flavor.   

Diced Tomatoes for Sauce

Diced tomatoes are pre-cut cubes of tomatoes that are cooked and canned for convenience. Diced tomatoes add an extra depth of flavor to sauces and are perfect for creating dishes with a chunkier texture, like chunky marinara sauce or chili.

Tomato Sauce

Making your own tomato sauce at home is a great way to personalize the sauce with a flavor profile of your choosing. For example, using a combination of Red Gold Tomato Sauce to provide a smooth, rich base, and Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes for texture and depth can enhance the overall flavor of the tomato sauce. The mixing and matching of various canned tomato types doesn’t stop at texture, but adds to the taste as well.  You can experiment with the amount of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, and add other spices or other ingredients like wine, meat, or vegetables to create your perfect tomato sauce.

Tips for Cooking with Canned Tomatoes

When cooking with canned tomatoes, there are a few practical tips and techniques to enhance their flavor. Add your tomatoes to a bowl and mash them to help break them down for dishes like stews. Sautéing canned tomatoes can help release any retained water and improve their taste. To balance the acidity, you can add a pinch of sugar or a splash of vinegar. The different types of canned tomatoes available - whole peeled, diced, crushed, sauce, and puree - have distinct uses, so choose the one that best fits your tomato sauce recipe. For storage, you should refrigerate any unused portion in an airtight container to maintain freshness.

Recipes and Ideas for Using Canned Tomatoes in Sauces

Red Gold’s variety of quality canned tomatoes are versatile and can be used for many delicious, hand crafted recipes that chefs of all abilities can create.

Check out a homemade spicy tomato sauce that is paired with plant-based meatballs for a savory dish of delightfulness! Using Red Gold’s Tomato Love Sriracha Diced Tomatoes + Red Chilies, this meal of Plant-Based Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce is sure to impress.

Red Gold’s Tomato Sauce and Petite Diced Tomatoes are the star of this recipe for Stuffed Pepper Soup. This simple soup is full of color and flavor!

Pizza can be made in a few minutes with this Easy No Cook Pizza Sauce recipe. Make it ahead and store in the refrigerator up to a week, or frozen up to six months, and make pizza fun for the whole family any night of the week. Red Gold Tomato Sauce, Crushed Tomatoes and  Tomato Paste all combine to make this tasty pizza sauce.

Make real Italian tomato sauce made with our crushed tomatoes, tangy tomato sauce and rich tomato paste in this Cheese Stuffed Meatballs in Marinara recipe .A great tomato sauce, meatballs, and cheese – is there a better combination of delectable tastiness?

Conclusion

For more than eight decades, family owned Red Gold Tomatoes has insisted that only the best quality and freshest tomatoes make it into our quality canned tomato products. Grown on 35 Midwest farms and picked at the peak of freshness, our tomatoes are bursting with color, firmness and flavor, and we’re proud to be the first brand to offer Non-GMO Project Verified Ingredients and Non-BPA/BPS lined cans so your tomatoes taste fresh off the vine. Our tomatoes are perfect for whatever tomato sauce recipe you have in mind. We encourage you to experiment with varieties that work best for your homemade tomato sauce. Learn about their flavor, consistency, and more to figure out what works best for your palate! 

Take the Red Gold Challenge Today 

Red Gold Tomato stands by its promise of unmatched quality. It is one thing to check all of the boxes, but another to deliver on quality each time you open a can. See for yourself by taking the Red Gold Challenge! You won’t be surprised when Red Gold Tomatoes far exceeds all competitors in color, size, and texture!

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