I've had some very prolific san marzano plants over the years. They have tons of flavor!

Thank you David - that cultivar seems to be at the top of many lists; sounds like a good one! (Now if only I could import some nice volcanic soil from Italy so the tomatoes would have that signature taste, lol, but guess I am stuck with what we call soil here in Colorado.)

Holly

I grew Romas, Amish Paste, and Opalkas last year with great success. I'm also in Westminster :-)

After my experience with Viva Italia - I didn't grow paste tomatoes for a couple of decades.

All those on this thread are 80 or 80+ days rated. Last year, I bought Heinz 2653 from Fedco. It's supposed to be a 68 day tomato. Along in mid-September, it ripened. Abundantly on small plants and the fruit was sweet and delicious! Good thing we didn't have an early frost.

It isn't close to any other 68 day tomato I've grown but I'm gonna miss it this year.

Steve

I was planning to get either a Viva Italia or an Opalka this weekend but got too busy and missed the Heirloom Tomato sale (they had Opalka tomato plants available,) so my first paste tomato experience will be with a San Marzano, since I purchased one of those plants earlier last week. I already have more tomatoes planted this year than I normally do - 10 planted and 2 more to go; I normally only grow about 5 varieties so this is quite an adventure for me, lol - so I decided I really didn't need to add any more.

By the way, the guy I bought the plant from said he did a side by side "cooking" comparison between San Marzano and Amish Paste. He still sells both varieties, but said the San Marzano tomatoes were easier to peel, had less seeds and juice - as in, were meatier - and all in all seemed to make better and tastier sauces. Just his experience and opinion, of course.

(Do I dare ask what happened with you and the Viva Italia, Steve?!?)

Thank you to everyone that responded to my request for recommendations; I will experiment with different cultivars next year, if the San Marzano doesn't fit the bill for me.

Holly

Viva Italia was a mistake on my part, Holly.

I'd never grown a paste tomato. Instead, I'd discovered "saladettes." The variety I had been growing was Lunchbox. You can still get it from Stokes Seed. I didn't have it one year.

I don't know why I thought Viva Italia was a saladette. Maybe, it is a perfectly fine paste tomato but the things had zero sweetness! I completely was not used to that! Hurt my feelings ... but, I think I'm over it, now.

I bet your San Marzano is something you will be real happy with, Holly.

Steve

Another new tomato term for me - Saladette! Well, I looked them up - supposed to be good for salad's AND sauces. Something to try next year, I think. Thank you, Steve!

Holly

I'll jump right back in here to say something about ... tomatoes ..! See how I intrude myself on this subject even when I don't know anything about the topic?

Here goes again! Hearts might be a good choice. (DW doesn't like the shape of them but I just might introduce a Kosovo or Anna Russian, or something, to the garden one of these days. ;o)

If I've got this right. It's partly the limited seed cavity that adds to the usefulness of a paste tomato.

Steve

I do remember you mentioning in another thread that you couldn't resist participating in threads about tomatoes, Steve. It's OK with me - I always learn something! So now I have to look into heart-shaped tomatoes....lead us not into temptation....

Theoretically, less seeds = more meat, which is what makes the sauce thick and tasty. My first experiment with such tomatoes so I guess I will find out!

Holly

You can make sauce out of any tomatoes, no need really to limit yourself to just pastes. You can either squeeze out the extra gel or just cook it a little longer to burn off the extra water.

I also freeze the tomatoes whole and then when they thaw the skins peel right off, no need to fuss with scalding them and stuff.

Ah but ....

Taking the stem end out, maybe chunking them on the cutting board, into the food processor for a count of 30 ... then, into the pot on the stove!

Does that seem too crude, leaving the skin on? I discovered that I prefer those late summer bowls of soup that way. You know, when the ripe tomatoes are beginning to pile up on the counter and there is still plenty to do, outdoors. There will be a fresh sprig of basil on top!

Steve

I agree, Zach, that all tomatoes can be used for salsas and saucee, but wanted to try the "real" thing, just to see what the fuss is about. Also, good to know that you DON'T have to "blanch" the tomatoes before freezing them - thought this was a necessary step but boy does it take up time and get a bit messy. Why didn't I know this?!?

You leave your tomato peels ON, Steve? Shame on you! Really though, why not? Though it is a myth that "all of the vitamins are in the skin," I usually leave the skins on, too, when fresh cooking tomatoes, because they do no harm and why take the extra step? Occasionally you might end up with some tough bits of skin in the soup, but normally all is well. I am ready for some of your soup now!

Holly

I am trying a paste this year as well because honestly, probably a solid 2/3 of of my tomatoes turn into sauce anyways, might as well give it a go! I wanted to try Opalka, but it's an indeterminate and I have VERY limited room for those, it is still on my tomato variety "bucket list" though. Plus, by growing determinate tomatoes, I get a lot of them all at once so I can make a decent amount of sauce instead of getting 3-4 fruit every other day wich makes about a tablespoon of sauce.... although freezing them kind of alleviates this problem because I can stock up.

No blanching needed prior to freezing. No matter what they are going to turn to mush once they thaw out anyways. I always peel them before they are completely thawed out because of that reason.

I don't need another tomato plant! Darn it, inbetweendays! And there are so many other temptations at Harlequin Gardens, too. Must resist taking a trip to Boulder....

Except for my Silvery Fir Tree, somehow I have managed to get all indeterminate plants this year and didn't think about trying to make sauce with only a few tomatoes at a time when I got the San Marzano, either. The freezer will be my friend! Thanks again for the "how to freeze tomatoes" tips, Zach.

Holly