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What to eat in Italy? Top 5 Italian Tomatoes

Last update: Wed Feb 19 2025
Top 5 Italian Tomatoes
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Best Italian Tomato Types

01

Tomato

PROVINCE OF SYRACUSE, Italy and  one more region
4.7
Pomodoro di Pachino
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Named after its town of origin, pomodoro di Pachino refers to various varieties of fresh tomatoes grown within the Sicilian province of Syracuse. The sweet flavored Pachino tomatoes are characterized by a particularly succulent flesh and prized for their long shelf life.


They are best enjoyed fresh, and typically used as an ingredient for mixed salads, cold pasta dishes or for pizza toppings. Also, according to old Sicilian culinary traditions, Pachino tomatoes are often sun-dried and preserved in olive oil in which way they can be used for making pâtés and tapenades, various flans and a seemingly limitless number of pasta dishes.

02
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Prized by many chefs as the best of its kind, Pomodoro S. Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino is a variety of plum tomato grown along the banks of Sarno River in the fertile volcanic plains south of Mount Vesuvius, namely within the provinces of Naples, Salerno and Avellino.


Locally known as 'the king of tomatoes', San Marzano peels quite easily and is characterized by an almost seedless flesh, bright red color and a delicate, bittersweet flavor. Even though San Marzano tomatoes are commonly used in a wide variety of Italian dishes, they have been designated as the only tomato variety that can be used for Vera Pizza Napoletana, the genuine Neapolitan pizza.

03
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Grown and produced in the province of Naples, namely within the Vesuvio National Park, Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio refers to cherry tomatoes which are marketed al piennolo, braided in bunches and sun-dried. As the tomatoes slowly dry out, their sweet flavor and aroma become more intense and concentrated.


Thanks to this old Vesuvian method of preserving, these fragrant cherry tomatoes can be enjoyed year round. Piennolo tomatoes are amazingly versatile and typically used as pizza topping or for preparing a wide variety of traditional Neapolitan pasta dishes like Scialatielli con salsiccia and Tagliatelle alle vongole or even desserts such as Millefoglie del Vesuvio.

04
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Costoluto fiorentino is a tomato variety originating from Florence. This heirloom has a distinct flattened and heavily ribbed shape. When mature, the color of the tomato is a brilliant deep red. These tomatoes have a meaty and juicy texture that is high in sugar and acid, making them one of the best varieties for cooking and making rich sauces or soups such as pappa al pomodoro.


They are also used fresh, sliced and added to sandwiches or salads.

05
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Pomodoro fiaschetto di Torre Guaceto is a traditional cherry or plum tomato variety originating from Carovigno. The fiaschetto tomatoes are small in size, sweet, juicy, and great for preserving. They're often used to prepare passata (tomato sauce) that was saved for the winter.


However, these small tomatoes came close to disappearing because the costs of cultivation and harvesting were too high, while yields were too low, unlike modern tomato hybrids that were developed specifically for the making of passata. The harvest of these tomatoes begins in June and lasts throughout the summer.

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Italian Tomatoes