Buyers beware of non Italian San Marzano tomatoes!

[Editor's Note: San Marzano plum tomatoes come from a small town outside Naples, Italy, peel easily, have less seeds and have a more concentrated flavour. You can buy them canned here in Vancouver. The controversy is that, of course, the San Marzano seeds can be grown elsewhere. For example, California. Since the soil, climate, etc. are different, California San Marzanos will naturally taste different then Italian San Marzanos. A good Italian brand is Pastene. I say use whatever San Marzanos taste better to you. I prefer Italian!]

I recently found a gourmet shop selling canned plum tomatoes and advertising them as San Marzano (which they were not).To be sure if what you have are true San Marzano tomatoes it will say so on the label. Also don't be fooled by the sneaky name brand San Marzano. It is in fact just a name brand and not actual San Marzano tomatoes.

Contributed by BKR