San Marzano is the world's most famous paste tomato — the legally-protected DOP variety grown in the volcanic soil around Vesuvius and used in authentic Neapolitan pizza sauce. In the UK garden it performs well in a warm polytunnel or greenhouse, producing elongated plum tomatoes with thick, almost seedless flesh and concentrated flavour that makes them the gold standard for passata, pizza sauce, and slow cooking.
Flavour
Rich, deep, and meaty with a concentrated sweetness and relatively low water content compared to round tomatoes. Low acidity when fully ripe. The flavour intensifies dramatically with cooking — a passata made from home-grown San Marzanos is a revelation compared to shop-bought.
In the kitchen
Born to be cooked. Halve and slow-roast for intense flavour concentration. Blend into passata or a simple tomato sauce with olive oil, garlic, and basil. The traditional preparation is simply crushed by hand into pizza sauce. They're also excellent halved and placed cut-side down on a very hot grill for 3–4 minutes — the flesh chars and concentrates.
Growing
Cordon variety best grown under glass in the UK for reliable ripening. Needs heat and a long season. Plant out in late April under glass, train as a single cordon. The fruit can be slow to ripen — stop the plant at 4 trusses in August to focus energy on ripening. Tomatino di San Marzano varieties (heritage seed) are more available from UK seed suppliers than the true F1 San Marzano 2 DOP variety.