San Marzano Tomatoes

Early this Spring, I was gifted a collection of Italian seeds. Included in this seed collection was purple onions, winter cherry tomatoes (if left on the vine and stored in a cool dry place, they will stay good for months after harvested), and San Marzano tomato seeds. Daddy and Mother Dearest were quite excited by the possibility of Italian tomatoes, and were nearly ecstatic after conducting some research. 

The amazing story and great significance of this tomato can be read by clicking below:

Royalty, emmigration, 70 years of glory, gradual neglect, forsaken, replaced, threat of extinction, rescue, redemption, prosperity, politics, public relations, protectionism, DNA testing, and the most ironic outcome of all: - this is the story of the San Marzano Tomato that few people in America know about.

Having discovered that San Marzanos are considered the best tomatoes to make into sauce...Daddy began a campaign to coddle and prod those seeds to the point of production and harvest. The seeds were planted in peat pods and carefully cared for: kissed, hugged, given several hours of sunlight daily, and tucked into their bed on the kitchen table. When the weather seemed to be just right, those baby plants were transplanted into the garden...two fifty foot rows of Italian tomato plants.

As they grew, Mother Dearest designed a new way to tie them up (no cages), Daddy learned that there are more tomatoes per plant than the American varieties that he has grown. More fruit, but smaller leaves...which led to sun rot. Sunshades were placed on the west side of the rows. And then they began to produce...and produce...and produce!

These tomatoes are simply marvelous!

A bit daunted by the prospect of one hundred feet of massively producing tomato plants, Mother Dearest researched additional ways to process San Marzano tomatoes. Her favorite of the options...dehydration. We have been cleaning, slicing, placing, dehydrating and bagging these lovely tomatoes, which can be re-hydrated to make sauce at a later date!