And does it matter which kind of plum tomato you use I bought four different types of tomato at the farmers market three different varieties of plum tomato, and then common beefsteaks, which are basically never recommended for sauce due to their juiciness. There are far more varieties of tomato than this, but it isnt practical to test them all, and, frankly, most other varieties, such as most heirlooms, require paying a premiummaking them a prohibitively expensive option for sauce. Four varieties of tomato for sauce testing. From left are three types of plum tomatoSan Marzano, Amish Paste, and Romaand then a beefsteak at far right. Photograph Daniel GritzerThe three types of plums I gotSan Marzanos, Amish Pastes, and Romasare good examples of how much variety exists even within one category of tomato. Photograph Daniel GritzerLook inside and youll get an idea of how their pulp to seed ratios differ. The San Marzanos, at left, were small and firm, with a relatively high amount of seed. Next, the Amish Pastes were mealy and soft, with the lowest amount of seed. The Romas were on the firm side, with a fair amount of seed. Last, the beefsteaks had plenty of watery pulp surrounding multiple seed compartments. I cut each type into chunks and cooked them separately to see how theyd turn out. Photograph Daniel GritzerAbove are the Amish Pastes note how much pulp there is, and how little water. Photograph Daniel GritzerAnd these are the beefsteaks. Tanta acqua Clearly, after all this water cooks off, theres not going to be much sauce left, which is why it doesnt make a lot of sense to make sauce from these kinds of tomatoes, unless you like paying hard earned cash to humidify the air in your home with tomato vapor. But, since Id already started, I took the beefsteaks to completion, straining out the skins and seeds and cooking the pure down. I did the same for all four types of tomato, and was surprised at how drastic their flavor differences were. The San Marzanos made a pure that was bright and tart and not too sweet. The Amish Pastes produced a pure that was sweet, mild, slightly tart, and fruity. The Romas were sweet and floral, but not very tart. The beefsteaks had a great balance between sweetness and tartness. Alone, each had its strengths one more tart, one sweeter, one fruitier, another more fragrant. But as I tasted them all, what I realized was that I didnt want any one of these tomatoes in my sauce I wanted all of them. Tasting them one by one, each was good, but combining them into a single spoonful made the whole thing pop. To be clear, the flavors of my tomatoes are particular to the ones I bought. You may buy San Marzanos that are sweeter and less tart, and Romas that are tart but not sweet. It depends not only on the variety but also on where they were grown and other specific environmental conditions. Its hard to predict with certainty the exact flavor profile and balance of sweetness and tartness any given tomato will deliver, so the best way to arrive at a balanced sauce is to combine multiple types. The majority of the tomatoes should be pasty plumsideally a variety of types, if you can find thembecause theyre more cost effective. But Im willing to add a little extra water from a small portion of beefsteaks or other juicy tomatoes if it means I can get a little bit of their flavor in the mix. A mix of tomatoes, mostly plums, is the way to go. Photograph Daniel GritzerPrepping the Tomatoes. Once Id settled on using a mix of tomatoes, the next step was deciding on how to prep them. Most folks agree that an abundance of skin or seeds in a tomato sauce is not a good thing, but theres more than one way to remove that stuff from a sauce. Canning Tomato Sauce© 2017