Canned whole peeled tomatoes

There’s nothing like fresh tomatoes, I know, for cooking stews and pasta sauces, for sauteeing… the fresher and plumper the tomatoes, the better the cooked dish turns out. Tomatoes are widely available, they are cheap and storing isn’t hard because they stay fresh in the fridge for several days.

There are months during the year, however, towards the end of summer and during the first few months of the monsoon season, when the quality of fresh tomatoes leaves much to be desired. I don’t know why that is so. I have long suspected that farmers, in anticipation of the rains and typhoons, harvest the tomatoes before they are ready. Hence, the markets are inundated with unripe green tomatoes.

Although they aren’t so bad for sauteeing, as far as I’m concerned, they just won’t do for making stews and pasta sauces. That’s when I switch to canned whole tomatoes.

Tomato sauce and tomato paste are alternatives too. But I like texture in my stew and pasta sauce. I like the bits of mushy tomatoes that did not completely liquefy during cooking. That’s why I prefer canned whole tomatoes over tomato sauce and tomato paste.

There are several brands available in most supermarkets but I am allergic to expensive items. Among the brands I have tried, Molinera suits my preferences best — cheaper than other brands but the quality is comparable to the more expensive ones.

In the mood for more food?

1. Green tea and rambutan dessert
2. Estrel’s caramel cake
3. Tamales Obando
4. Spaghetti with longganisa (sausage) meatballs
5. Fish lumpia (spring roll) with gata (coco milk)
6. Valentine’s Day breakfast 1: German corned beef, cabbage and mushroom soup
7. Baby prawns and broccoli fried rice with oyster sauce
8. Fish egg soup with lemongrass and galangal
9. About Filipino Cuisine
10. Crispy Pata

About Pinoy Cook

• About the author
• Cooking philosophy
• Food photography
• The noche buena section
• Product review policy
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Recipe archive
• Published articles
• Food from all over
• E-mail the author

Readers

 Subscribe in a reader

Asian cooking

• Gizzard, cashew nuts and peas stir-fry
• Budget cooking part 3 (twice-cooked chicken and tofu)
• Pork and mushrooms noodle soup
• Mapo tofu
• Beef curry
• Steamed fish with oyster sauce
• Siopao (steamed dumplings)
• Beef with broccoli
• Sweet and spicy tofu
• Beef and hofan soup

Asian Pantry

• Atsuwete (annatto)
• Pili nuts
• Sayote (chayote)
• Chili sauce
• Coriander seeds
• Mirin
• Potted herbs from Market! Market!
• Japanese sweet corn
• Green curry paste: how hot do you want your food?
• Udon

Side Notes