Fantastic Sauce Tomatoes That Are Worth Growing
I have long proven that most tomatoes can be used for making great tasting sauce. In the past I have used beefsteaks, slicers, cherries, all kinds of anthos, elongated and ruffled and more, with great success. So my point of view in this topic may differ from some. Nonethelsss I am writing my experience. If you like seeing tomatoes in your garden, I have included a list of a few fantastic sauce tomatoes that are worth growing.
Make Great Tomato Sauce With Any Tomato
Each year I seed at least a thousand pounds of tomatoes. This leaves me with hundreds of pounds of pulp for cooking and processing. After I have given away everything I can, I begin processing what’s left. I write this to say that I do not sort any of the tomatoes which I seed. So in this instance, everything is all mixed up. With my cosmopolitan pulp, I make everything from sauce and gazpacho, to salsa and bisque. So even with mixed pulp, which comprises of varieties that are considered not sauce worthy, I end up with really great sauce. The cook in me refuses to conform to making sauce with what are considered sauce specialists. But I have don’t that too, with fantastic results and less work.
Sauce Specialist Tomatoes Make Sauce Making Easy.
Here are some varieties that have made some of the best sauce for me.
Amish Paste: The first time I made sauce with Amish Paste tomato I was blown away. Without much work, it seemingly boiled itself down into the sweetest, thick sauce that almost needed nothing before being served. The tomato itself is not the juiciest, and sauce is a nice deep red that maintained it’s good old fashioned flavor even after cooking and seasoning with a few herbs. Since then, my mind automatically runs to this gem, each time I think about home-made tomato sauce.
Opalka Tomato Is Perfect For Sauce
Opalka: If you have a small garden and want to insure that you have enough tomatoes for making plenty great tomato or spaghetti sauce, Opalka will definitely do the job! My plants always out-produce most others in the garden. Opalka sauce is not as sweet as that of Amish Paste, but it is definitely fantastic sauce with great consistency and flavor. I have no doubt that many chefs and cooks choose these as one of their go-to varieties because of their abundance and sauce making capabilities. Having Opalka sauce over spaghetti, you would think you are in heaven!
San Marzano Tomato Makes Sweet Thick Sauce
San Marzano: Most serious sauce makers already know where I am heading with this. Long considered one of the best sauce tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes are in every kitchen all over the world. One of the best qualities of this sauce specialist, is that it keeps well. So weeks after your harvest they may still be usable. San Marzano sauce is thick, sweeter and flavorful. Even without any seasoning you will still experience a tomato sauce that has excellent flavor and texture. San Marzano is definitely one of the best tomatoes for this application.
The Oxheart Family Of Sauce-Makers
I know that this may come as a surprise to many, but there are some excellent sauce makers in the oxheart family. Varieties such as Anna Russian, Mayo’s Delight, Curtis Cheek and Heart Of Ashgabat(to name a few), make exceptional sauce with not much effort. My policy is, if you looking for a family of tomatoes that can do almost anything well, go with oxhearts. And if you have never experienced an oxheart tomato, I highly recommend this family!
Try Goatbag Tomato For Sauce
This is no joke! Goatbag tomato is a great all purpose variety. What I love about this variety is that the fruits are huge and not seedy, so just a few could make some great sauce. Its sweet meat, medium juicy and yield when cooked, is perfect for the most exotic tasting sauce. Get your pasta ready and enjoy the experience! Goatbag also makes a great sandwich tomato, so have at it.
Sauces Love Marzano Fire Paste Tomato
If your goal is to make tomato/spaghetti sauce that would make you the talk of the town, try some Marzano Fire Paste Tomato. This is another one that would make great sauce even of you are not a good cook. Bred by Fred Hempel, this dual purpose tomato certainly stands out in sauces. There are quite a few tomatoes that can easily make this list, but I choose Marzano Fire Paste Tomato because it still stands above them.
Zapotec Tomato Perfect For Sauces
Don’t let the pleats in Zapotec scare you! The truth is, it is another sauce specialist. Zapotec has a naturally sweet feel with medium dry meat that will captivate you when you try some of it’s resulting sauce. This beauty lends itself to some Italian herbs and olive oil. For some reason, my sauces with Zapotec are always easily distinguishable. For one thing, it has great texture and is almost always on the thicker side when cooked down. I really love me some Zapotec sauce over zucchini pasta. Yummers!!
Blame The Italians For Great Tomato Sauce
Two of my favorite sauce making tomatoes are the Italian varieties Costoluto Fiorentino and Costoluto Genovese. I have made some really fantastic sauces with these throughout the years. In fact, they are two of my favorite go-to tomatoes for making sauces. Both can make some very smooth, sweet and thick sauce without much effort. To me that is always an indicator of a great sauce tomato. So next time you are looking to make some great sauce, think about Italy! Do I have a favorite between the two? NO!
So now that I have spilled the beans on one of my faves, I hope that you would try some. Maybe then you too will write an article about fantastic sauce tomatoes that are worth growing.
