The best home-made tomato puree

A fixed appointment in the summer, a ritual of preservation of traditional flavours and sharing of pleasure: few occasions have the capacity to bring entire families together as happened in the past with the preparation of tomato puree.

A historical custom for many regions of Italy, which has come back to the attention of connoisseurs of good things in recent years for the authenticity and quality of the product obtained.  

With the artisanal production of Orominerva's tomato puree, it is precisely that ritual of taste that we want to preserve, which begins with the land and ends with tasting, and during this process makes use of the same know-how as in the past.

Slowly and unhurriedly, every year we do our best to ensure that our passata is one of the best.

Our passata is first in the Gambero Rosso classification

In 2017 Gambero Rosso awarded us first place in the ranking of the best artisanal tomato passata in Italy. The response came after a blind tasting of dozens of similar products; we are therefore talking about artisanal passata selected from niche producers, not from the large-scale retail trade. 

In fact, this is our reference market, made up of food specialities that bring the pleasure of eating well back to the table. 

The evaluation made by the Gambero Rosso experts showed that the best artisanal passata has precise characteristics of craftsmanship, such as the rustic vegetable sweetness, natural acidity and very fresh tomato aromas.

In an already exclusive context, seeing our passata win was a source of great pride, a confirmation that the direction we have been taking since the birth of our company is the right one.

Here are the characteristics that determined Orominerva's artisanal tomato puree as the best:

"Barely grainy, compact and homogeneous flaming red, it has the courage to be what it is: a delicate and very classic passata, with a full, round and balanced taste and aromas of great freshness. A good base for any dish.

The recipe for our tomato puree 

Fresh Italian tomatoes (99.6%) and a pinch of salt (0.4%), nothing more. This is how our tomato puree is made, according to the original recipe. 

Where do the tomatoes for the best puree come from?

Like every raw material we choose, we pay great attention to the main ingredient of our passata. Italy provides us with excellent varieties of tomatoes for the sauce, especially in the south; it is here that we get the tomatoes, most of the time producing them ourselves in Molise, in some cases referring to neighbouring growers. 

The tomatoes are not sourced randomly, but always from trusted growers who are committed to quality and grow according to precise rules, respecting the local area and aiming to preserve the raw material.  

The quality of our tomatoes is evident in the scent of the freshly opened puree, in the fresh aromas that evoke pleasant sensations of the past.

Perfect puree in its natural state, without additives

We use the best tomatoes for our puree. 

We pick them when they are ripe and this is essential for the final flavour of the product, as unripe tomatoes would make the passata too sour. 

Our tomatoes are processed immediately and do not need any correctors or additions to preserve the sauce; their acidity level is perfect, as is their freshness and all the organoleptic qualities needed to obtain true artisanal passata.

According to the relevant decree, the name 'tomato puree' is reserved for the product 'obtained directly from fresh, healthy and ripe tomatoes, having the characteristic colour, aroma and taste of the fruit from which they come, by pressing, eventual separation of skins and seeds and partial removal of the water from which they are made...'. 

However, the decree allows the addition of acidity correctors, which serve to lower the pH of the final product, set at a maximum of 4.5. 

Our tomato puree does not need these additions; the quality of the raw material and the artisanal process by which we obtain the final product mean that it is perfect in its natural state, just like it used to be.

Slow processing and no peeling waste

To produce the best artisanal tomato puree, we take our time because we put quality before quantity. 

Bringing back the ritual of the past means also this; respecting the steps of the artisan method and knowing how to wait for their completion. Therefore, we work from fresh, with tomatoes blanched in water before being pureed and then slowly pasteurised in a bain-marie. 

Traditional bain-marie cooking ensures that the tomatoes retain their organoleptic properties, such as flavour, vibrant colour, fresh aromas, and also the right degree of acidity.

Pasteurisation is an essential process to stabilise the product and make it safe from a microbiological point of view; however, industrial dynamics, which are different from ours, involve the use of advanced and much faster methods, which although guaranteeing the safety of the passata, affect the organoleptic profile of the raw material and the final product. 

Another point in favour of a better passata is the exclusive processing of tomatoes and not of peeling waste. The latter would make the product more bitter; by not using them, however, we preserve the goodness of our puree and its nutritional properties. 

We do, however, find a use for the waste: we reuse all the processing waste to fertilise our land.

Why our tomato puree?

At the end of our ritual comes the moment of sharing, not just of taste. 

Choosing our tomato puree means first of all being on the side of quality, having the desire to bring the good taste of things back to the table. A value that is recognised and also determined by the price.

The ritual of craftsmanship presupposes constant commitment and the use of exclusive resources; we have explained this by talking about the selection of tomatoes, how we work them and the time we spend doing it. We can't compromise to be commercial, that is not our aim and we don't aim to please everyone, but to give an unprecedented pleasure to those who share our idea of taste. 

We bring the past back to life, we reinterpret it to bring back the taste of our grandmothers' homemade passata, a speciality that is priceless. 

Its value can be seen in its bright red colour and homogeneous density, it can be felt in its fresh and heady aromas, and is fully understood in its taste, so round and balanced that it goes well with any dish.