Where to get Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Comments
2009 Apr 20
I use sundried tomatoes in a lot of my italian cooking, specifically pizzas, pastas (especially sauceless pasta) and dishes with chicken.
Tonight, I made a chicken dish with raw tomatoes, as well as sundried, pancetta and garlic. It was delicious, but whilst cooking I noticed that I had three different types of sundried tomatoes in the house. I decided to do a bit of a taste test (bearing in mind that my partner wasn't going to be home for a few hours longer and I was starving).
First up were ones in oil from the self-serve section of La Bottega: These were great--not too chewy, had a bit too much oil for my liking, but the herb mixture wasn't too heavy either.
Second, were ones from Nicastro's on Wellington which had been in the fridge in oil for a little while (the weekend?) They were particularly soft, but overly seasoned and the tomato didn't really shine, which was kind of sad.
Finally, we had some dried ones from the same Nicastro's (bought around the same time) that were stored along with our spices in the pantry. These I found to be overly chewy, almost hard, and salty as all get out. I'm pretty sure we bought these things that they would be fairly similar to the ones we found in a Florentian market last year.
The final verdict? While I don't like oily sundried tomatoes, the taste and and texture tends to be better than the ones that are not preserved, at least in Canada. If anyone knows of a place that sells dried, not oiled, sundried tomatoes that are not so hard that they could be chew toys for dogs, please let me know!!
Tonight, I made a chicken dish with raw tomatoes, as well as sundried, pancetta and garlic. It was delicious, but whilst cooking I noticed that I had three different types of sundried tomatoes in the house. I decided to do a bit of a taste test (bearing in mind that my partner wasn't going to be home for a few hours longer and I was starving).
First up were ones in oil from the self-serve section of La Bottega: These were great--not too chewy, had a bit too much oil for my liking, but the herb mixture wasn't too heavy either.
Second, were ones from Nicastro's on Wellington which had been in the fridge in oil for a little while (the weekend?) They were particularly soft, but overly seasoned and the tomato didn't really shine, which was kind of sad.
Finally, we had some dried ones from the same Nicastro's (bought around the same time) that were stored along with our spices in the pantry. These I found to be overly chewy, almost hard, and salty as all get out. I'm pretty sure we bought these things that they would be fairly similar to the ones we found in a Florentian market last year.
The final verdict? While I don't like oily sundried tomatoes, the taste and and texture tends to be better than the ones that are not preserved, at least in Canada. If anyone knows of a place that sells dried, not oiled, sundried tomatoes that are not so hard that they could be chew toys for dogs, please let me know!!
Pasta lover