San Marzano

[Anthony_Toronto]

Making a lot of pizza lately. Love san marzano for sauce. Was thinking of throwing a few plants in the garden this summer. Is it worth it? Does the quality of the san marzano canned tomatoes from Italy come from the particular region in which they are grown? I still want to try...but there are a few different varieties of seeds out there. For anyone who has grown them can you suggest a variety?
thanks

[Delerium]

I have grown San Marzano Redorta. Productive little plant (not more than 3-4 feet tall - bushy plant).

[crazyoldgooseman]

I too recommend San Marzano Redorta. Much better than Regular SM's. Great for sauce and taste great fresh too! Do you have a good pizza sauce recipe?

[sicily]

I also like San Marzano Redorta. Another larger plum that's productive and delicious is Rinaldo.

[Father'sDaughter]

I have tried three San Marzano varieties and none of them did well in my garden, but that does not mean they won't do well for you. I have had better luck with other large plums, especially Romeo which I thought had a ton of flavor for a paste. This year I'm also trying Santa Maria because I saw where Remy said she liked it even better than Romeo -- http://www.sampleseeds.com/?page_id=4260

[bughunter99]

Here is zone 5 midwest, I don't get the San Marzano love. I've grown three different types, all were very susceptible to disease, all had meh flavor. The only good qualities I found were the small seed cavity which made things easier and good production during the period it was healthy, but that isn't enough to make me grow it again. I recommend hedging your bets and also growing other varieties for a side by side comparison.

Stacy

[Anthony_Toronto]

Originally Posted by crazyoldgooseman

I too recommend San Marzano Redorta. Much better than Regular SM's. Great for sauce and taste great fresh too! Do you have a good pizza sauce recipe?

I just start with chopped or pureed san marzano (or similar) tomatoes, use a few paper towels to soak up excess juice (delicious yes, but all that excess liquid impacts getting the dough to cook) so it is almost the consistency of paste, and then add a drizzle of evoo, some grated parmesan, some salt and pepper to taste (especially salt), and some fresh coarse chopped basil, and spread a thin layer of that on a fresh dough before topping and tossing onto a 500+ degree pizza stone. The fresh flavour of the previously-uncooked tomatoes, if the tomatoes are actually good, makes all the difference in my opinion...and the faster the pizza cooks the more freshness you get.

[Anthony_Toronto]

I was thinking San Marzano Redorta, thanks for the recommendations. Those santa maria also sound tasty but I have found that where tomatoes taste better for eating they aren't always better for sauce, in fact I usually find the opposite, but I think I'll give a few different varieties a try to see if any work up here north of the border.

[parah]

I love long plum varieties, but only have a little experience with them. Wessel (the cross from Cherokee Purple X Sausage) seem to be holding up well to the disease pressure in my garden, but still early, just set fruit. Opalka, Casino, and Heidi died from foliage disease after making less than 10 fruit.

Are there some tasty long plum varieties with stronger resistance to foliage diseases?
Any with potato leaves? Any dwarf plants?

[Anthony_Toronto]

The only plum variety that I've grown that I enjoyed eating as is (after removing the green shoulders, almost a necessity with this one) was Purple Russian. Wispy delicate plant but was fairly productive, and tomatoes really did taste good to me.

[MikeInCypress]

Parah: Here in humid Houston Heidi always crops well and stands out with above average disease resistance. Viva Italia is a hybrid that also produces well. Of course liberal use of Daconil helps.

MikeInCypress

[Anthony_Toronto]

Ended up ordering some regular San Marzano, some San Marzano Redorta, and some San Marzano Lungo No. 2. May the late summer and early fall be saturated with pizzas and tomato sauce.

[Stvrob]

Oplalka for cooking!

[Anthony_Toronto]

Too late for Opalka for this year, I've made my commitment to my seed purchases! Though I may have someone with some spares of this one, as she went 'seed crazy' last year, her first year in a house with a very large garden...I think she ordered seeds for 200 different assorted garden veggies.