Potentially dumb question...

corblimey

Excuse my ignorance, but if a recipe calls for chopped tinned tomatoes and I buy whole tinned tomatoes, is there any downside? Or vice versa?

I told you it was possibly dumb...

olaola

You just have to chop the whole tomatoes. You could use fresh either. They are basically all interchangeable. I don't bother chopping them first - I just plop them into the pot and attack them with a wooden spoon. They will fall apart anyway when they are cooked.

corblimey

olaola wrote: »

You just have to chop the whole tomatoes. You could use fresh either. They are basically all interchangeable. I don't bother chopping them first - I just plop them into the pot and attack them with a wooden spoon. They will fall apart anyway when they are cooked.

I'm thinking more in terms of 'volume' of tomatoes. If a recipe calls for 2 tins of whole tomato, am I getting the same amount of tomatoey goodness if I lob in 2 tins of chopped tomato?

jon1981

corblimey wrote: »

I'm thinking more in terms of 'volume' of tomatoes. If a recipe calls for 2 tins of whole tomato, am I getting the same amount of tomatoey goodness if I lob in 2 tins of chopped tomato?

well if a can of chopped tomatoes weigh the same as a can of whole...then the volume must be the same? no?

corblimey

jon1981 wrote: »

well if a can of chopped tomatoes weigh the same as a can of whole...then the volume must be the same? no?

Who am I, Alfred Einstein?

Ponster

As corblimey said they'll be the exact same (weight-wise) just not chopped up.

Chopped versions can have herbs and such added to them for Italian sauces and such while the whole versions tend to almost always be 'pure'.

Alun

jon1981 wrote: »

well if a can of chopped tomatoes weigh the same as a can of whole...then the volume must be the same? no?

The total volume may be the same, but in the case of the whole tomatoes a lot of that may be juice. I get the impression that the solid content of a tin of chopped tomatoes is slightly higher than that of a tin of whole tomatoes, but I've no way of proving it really. In any normal recipe it isn't going to make any difference one way or another though.

The Sweeper

As Alun says, the tin of chopped will make a thicker sauce than the tin of whole, which has more juice. This is just an observation - I interchange what I'm using when I make a lasagne sauce or a chili sauce, depending if I want a liquid sauce to cook pasta or go over rice, or a thick, drier sauce for using in fajitas...

rubadub

Alun wrote: »

I get the impression that the solid content of a tin of chopped tomatoes is slightly higher than that of a tin of whole tomatoes, but I've no way of proving it really.

Some tins of stuff, or particular brands may state drained weights, dunno if that is usual for tomatoes. If it is the same brand and same price I would expect more in the chopped ones, they are essentially "seconds", i.e. the leftover odd tomatoes that could not have been sold as "whole". Same goes for delmonte pineapple chunks, rings, and crushed.

Also if you check nutritional information on tins you can figure out if stuff is watered down a lot. e.g. if one tin has more fibre I would presume it has more solids, especially if the same brand.

Tomatoes are 95% water and cheap so I wouldn't worry too much.

Dizzyblonde

I've been cooking for a loooong time and I use whatever type of tinned tomatoes I can get in the supermarket. I can honestly say I've never ever noticed a difference, no matter what I use them for.They'll reduce down and thicken anyway.

olaola

Add some tomato puree if you don't find it thick enough.