Customer Reviews

Pomi Parmalat Chopped Tomatoes - (26.46 oz)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like these Pomi tomatoes because they are fresh and flavorful. Also, they come in a carton that is a welcome alternative to metal cans which impart flavor and which sometimes are lined with a plastic containing Bisphenol-A.

Compared to any brand tomato product, Pomi has less sodium, all natural ingredients and excellent taste. Look at any can of 'reduced sodium' tomatoes and Pomi is significantly better.

I am definitely in the middle of the fence regarding this product. :-(

The good:
* Non-BPA packaging (as we all know, almost impossible to find for a plain tomato product)
* low in sodium
* not sourced in China

Now for what I consider the downsides (other than the price, which may not be a deterrent to some).

First, compared to the no-salt-added product I used to use (Del Monte Petite Cut Tomatoes, No Salt Added), I do think these tomatoes have FAR less taste. The difference is not due to salt content because the sodium content as given on the packaging of both products is the same. IMHO the Pomi tomatoes taste less "tomato-y" than what I used to buy (a friend who also tried the Pomi said she finds the taste "insipid"). But that is not my main gripe.

The package claims 26 1/2 oz net weight (approximately, but close enough). However, a LOT of that weight is the watery juice from the tomatoes and thus I was unpleasantly surprised to see how little of that 26.46 oz is actually TOMATOES. So one day I took the time to strain the package and see exactly how much chopped tomato there is, versus their juice. The strained chopped tomato pieces were weighed on my electronic kitchen scale and came to 13.4 oz; the juice which was strained directly into a measuring cup came to just below the 11 fluid oz mark. Also, some of that 13.4 oz of chopped tomatoes also included a little bit of juice as well, since they were impossible to drain completely "dry". So this means that for the current price ($2.50 per box of Pomi at my local supermarkets) you are getting only about 13 oz of chopped tomatoes. That comes to about 19 cents per ounce. Hmmmmmm.

This made me curious enough to invest in a "throwaway" can of my former choice, the Del Monte Petite Cut tomatoes which comes in a 14.5 oz can, to see how they compared. I strained it in the same manner as I did the Pomi. The results: I got 12 oz of actual tomatoes and only 2.5 oz of their juices. The can of Del Monte was $1.29 (at the same large supermarket chain that sells the Pomi for $2.50) which comes to 10.7 cents per ounce... almost half the cost of the Pomi if you are calculating how much actual chopped tomatoes you get for the money.

I must also comment that the consistency of the Pomi chopped tomatoes is much "mushier" than the Del Monte petite cut or other typical canned ones ... in fact, IMHO the Pomi chopped is more than halfway to "sauce" consistency right out of the box, which is okay for some recipes but not good for others. The Del Monte diced served me perfectly in that regard but again... that darned BPA in their cans! :-(

I really DID want to love the Pomi chopped tomatoes and if it was only the taste and the consistency that disappointed, I could probably learn to live with those shortcomings. However the realization that they cost almost twice the price for approximately the same quantity of ACTUAL chopped tomatoes compared to the equivalent canned product, is very frustrating especially in today's economy. Because I usually need little or none of the juice which makes up more than 35% of the package's contents, basically I'm paying a 90% premium for the non-BPA packaging.

There should really be a better alternative but I've yet to find it. The few tomatoes in glass jars that I have found, have all contained spices (which I can't use, being allergic to garlic and onion) or have high sodium contents. Ideally, I wish Pomi would add a straining step to this product (which perhaps Del Monte does?) so that their package would contain more tomatoes and less liquid.