The answer may surprise you.
One morning this past June, Vincenzo Aufiero was tending to his San Marzano tomatoes.
The day before, Vincenzo was also tending to his San Marzano tomatoes.
Courtesy of Gustarosso
Vesuvius, working his land so that we all might put a better red sauce on our pasta.
He even fishes for eels and crayfish in the spring-fed sluiceway running along the border of his property.
Except, dear American consumer, that’s not really happening.
Courtesy of Gustarosso
“Let me ask you this,” says Paolo Ruggiero.
His family owns the canning and distribution companyGustarossothat buys Aufiero’s tomatoes.
There are about 5.6 million people in the region of Campania alone.
Courtesy of Gustarosso
“I know there are Italians and Italian Americans making millions on something that’s fake.
In the case of the San Marzano, the tomatoes must be grown within the 41 municipalities around Mt.
Vesuvius certified to bear the label.
Courtesy of Gustarosso
This, Vincenzo Aufiero showed me, has a certain homespun ingeniousness to it.
The bottom-to-top approach means that each tomato is picked at its prime lusciousness.
Who is doing all the picking is another key to the nobleness of the San Marzano.
It is literally as Gustarosso advertises, “tomatoes, grown by grandmas and grandpas.”
“Today you see San Marzano puree, San Marzano chunked tomatoes, even San Marzano ketchup.
But none of that can legally be certified as actual San Marzano.”
D.O.P. Seal Denominazione di Origine Protetta (literally Protected Designation of Origin and often indicated as P.O.D.). .
Second, consumers should avoid the label “San Marzano-style.”
It’s not a style you’re looking to eat but an actual, physical thing.
Lastly, look for the D.O.P.
designation that should be clearly displayed on the can.
Was it all the picking he was doing I asked him?
The moving around of irrigation and compost?
“No,” he said.
