Types of Tomato Products

We reach for whole peeled tomatoes when making soups, marinara, or Sunday gravy. Their sweet flavor is the closest to that of in-season tomatoes, and they’re peeled, so they’re ultraconvenient. Click here for our review on whole peeled tomatoes.

Good canned diced tomatoes have a fresh flavor and firm texture that make them one of our top pantry items. Most products are treated with calcium chloride (for a firm texture), salt, and citric acid (for flavor). Click here for our review on canned diced tomatoes.

Fire-roasted tomatoes have a sweet, smoky flavor (some are actually charred, others simply smoke-flavored) that adds complexity to a wide range of dishes—from pasta sauces to chilis and stews. We’ve found that the smoke level varies widely from product to product, and that it mellows with longer cooking. Click here for our review on fire-roasted tomatoes.

Canned tomato puree is fully cooked and strained. It has a thick, even texture that is especially well suited for long-cooked dishes like stews and ragus. We combine tomato puree with diced tomatoes for a blend of textures in some of our chili recipes. Click here for our review on canned tomato puree.

With no U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight to regulate consistency, crushed tomato products differ greatly—from thick and saucy to chunky and full of seeds. We prefer our crushed tomatoes chunky—not thick like tomato paste or smooth like tomato sauce. Click here for our review on crushed tomatoes.

Passata is an uncooked, strained tomato purée, often used as a base for sauces, soups, and stews. It's made by pureeing fresh tomatoes and then straining out the seeds and skins, which provides an incredibly fresh flavor. Passata is usually found near the other tomato products in the grocery store; if you're buying the Pomì brand it may be labeled “strained tomatoes."

Supermarket tomato ketchup is sweet, salty, and boldly seasoned with onions, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and vinegar. Its thick body and intense flavor make it a powerful ingredient in recipes like cocktail and barbecue sauces, baked beans, and meatloaf. Click here for our review on ketchup.

You’ll find many jarred salsas at the market. You’ll also find that the fresh flavors and textures of tomatoes, onion, chiles, and cilantro are missing from most products. In a recent tasting of jarred salsas, we found that most medium salsas were “spicy, fresh, and tomatoey” with “pleasant, not overpowering” heat.

Sun-dried plum tomatoes are valued for their chewy texture and concentrated flavor. Most products are imported from Italy or Turkey and are sold either dry-packed in plastic containers or bags or oil-packed in jars. We prefer oil-packed; the dry-packed variety is often leathery.

Packed with glutamates, tomato paste adds meaty depth, sweetness, and richness to all types of dishes. It is made by cooking skinned, seeded tomatoes until most of their water has evaporated. Extensive testing of many brands of paste led us to an unusual verdict: Which tomato paste you use doesn't really matter. That said, we do have a preference in the packaging arena: We're Team Tube all the way. The tubes are easier to use and store than the cans. In the end, the paste you choose to buy comes down to two factors: convenience and cost. Click here for our review on tomato paste.

Canned tomato sauce is tomato paste thinned with water and usually seasoned with garlic and onion. We typically use it in combination with other tomato products; we like to use a mix of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in some of our skillet pasta recipes.

Tomato juice’s utility goes far beyond breakfast and Bloody Marys. Use it in place of water or broth in soups, stews, or pan sauces for richer flavor. We love the intensity it brings to gazpacho.

This spicy, nose-tingling sauce is a must with shrimp cocktail and raw oysters. Most versions are a combination of ketchup, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, and seasonings; some include Worcestershire, hot sauce, or tomato-based chili sauce. Homemade trumps store-bought—see for yourself.