Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tinned tomatoes 🍅

139 replies

smurfette11 · 29/07/2023 22:04

Settle an argument at home.

YANBU it doesn't matter which tinned tomatoes you buy they all taste the same and the trick is to cook them properly and drain off the watery stuff

YABU premium brands are so much better And have more pulp

OP posts:
Lykia · 29/07/2023 22:57

Another Mutti fan here. I find you need to use less tins are they are very dense as opposed to watery.

ZairWazAnOldLady · 29/07/2023 22:57

Just use fresh it’s summer

mommatoone · 29/07/2023 22:56

Mix your tinned toms (cheap or otherwise) with baked beans- game changer for your Sunday brekkie 😋

LuciferRising · 29/07/2023 22:56

Comparing the ingredients, there is a big difference. I bought Mutti today to try for the first time.

Mydogisagentleman · 29/07/2023 22:54

Tinned cherry tomatoes.
I'll just leave that there

MySoCalledWife · 29/07/2023 22:53

You're all doing it wrong

Chopped tomatoes? Nooo

Buy whole tinned ones, cheap is fine, just remove any hard bits (average tin maybe has 2 bits that are a bit hard at the top

Add half a teaspoon of sugar and some tomato paste if needed

Nice tinned toms are nice... but you can make the cheap ones work just as well

But the whole tomatoes are always better quality than chopped!

Patty101 · 29/07/2023 22:51

I think the really cheap tins can be quite nasty. But never tried a tin that I felt was miles better than the rest.

And for those people saying you only throw them in your cooking anyway, do you never put them on top of cheese on toast with a load of black pepper and Worcestershire sauce?

Fifiesta · 29/07/2023 22:50

I think if you are using tinned tomatoes as a component in a cooking sauce you should always taste the mix and modify anyway. Depending on what I am cooking, I use a tiny bit of honey, sweet chilly or red currant sauce to balance the flavour. Therefore although some brands may be better than others, it shouldn’t necessarily ruin the result if you purchase something less expensive.

MaidOfSteel · 29/07/2023 22:49

I tried Mutti after reading about them on here and my husband couldn't even tell the difference! I think any brand is fine if you add a little bit of sugar to balance the acidity, salt, pepper and any other spices, or other additions you might fancy, to your dish.

Mariposista · 29/07/2023 22:48

Agree with the above over Mutti. My Italian friends got me onto them.

DiaNaranja · 29/07/2023 22:47

PragmaticWench · 29/07/2023 22:31

Definitely Mutti. Also buy plum tomatoes and mash them up rather than buying chopped; an Italian born cook told me the plum tomatoes are the ripest at point of being tinned and so have the best flavour.

I was out of chopped tomatoes once and half way through making a chilli, so chopped up a tin of plum tomatoes, and it was so much better, so do this every time now. I don't get the expensive ones though, just the Tesco cheapos, and they're still great. Much better than chopped tomatoes, which look like they're in water. Plum tomatoes always have a rich sauce no matter how cheap you go!

Brefugee · 29/07/2023 22:41

Mutti are hideously expensive but fantastic and worth it.
And they make divine ketchup too

DelilahBucket · 29/07/2023 22:41

You tend to get what what you pay for. I always bought Sainsbury's basics but they had so much liquid in them! Then I switched to Napolina when they were on offer. We shop at Ocado now and their own brand is decent.

BeardieWeirdie · 29/07/2023 22:40

Love the posh Lidl ones in black tins, either chopped or cherry. Cheap ones are revolting and you often see the mouldy ones that went in.

UsingChangeofName · 29/07/2023 22:39

I only ever buy 'basic' tinned tomatoes.
Potentially, if you did blind taste test, I presume there must be a difference but cost is a big factor for most people (if not most MNers).
A quick google suggests they are £1.75 at Tesco against 30p for the basic ones.

I can't begin to believe they are that much better.

Even more so, when I usually cook with them and they are only one ingredient in whatever it is I am cooking.

SavvyMaria · 29/07/2023 22:38

Cirio are better than Mutti IMO.

Cheap plum tomatoes are better than chopped.

Howtohideasausage · 29/07/2023 22:34

I use the 50p Asda own. Seem fine to me. Mind you, I buy Heinz beans.

PragmaticWench · 29/07/2023 22:31

Definitely Mutti. Also buy plum tomatoes and mash them up rather than buying chopped; an Italian born cook told me the plum tomatoes are the ripest at point of being tinned and so have the best flavour.

NeedMoMoney · 29/07/2023 22:28

What a wierd thread.. to try and advertise this mutti brand...

morelippy · 29/07/2023 22:27

I used mutti for the first time today, thanks to MN

I'm so unimpressed

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 29/07/2023 22:27

SausageinaBun · 29/07/2023 22:15

I like Cirio - their chopped tomatoes are really thick, nothing to drain off.

I agree, much better than Mutti.

Jewelanemone · 29/07/2023 22:26

They all get chucked into something Bolognese-y or chilli-ish so it doesn't matter. Cheaper the better.

MyDogIsADude · 29/07/2023 22:25

We use Mr Organic and Mutti. The cheap ones are horrible.

RedRobyn2021 · 29/07/2023 22:24

I used to think they were all the same but they definitely aren't, I buy the cheap ones btw

JudgeRinderonTinder · 29/07/2023 22:17

branded are better but cheap ones are generally fine. You’re going to add other herbs/spices and bits to the meal anyway and if you’re on a budget it’s not worth the extra you just make the best of your ingredients.