You say tom-AY-to, I say tom-AH-to, Jupitus says #tomsontoast

You want to know when and how this whole thing started? Well, it was here...

@jupitusphillip Sudden craving... Plum tomatoes on brown toast... TO THE BAKERS!
5:37 PM Feb 17th via web

A simple desire for something I used to have for breakfast quite a bit, and hadn't had in ages. Having bought a brown loaf, I went to my cupboard and found two different tins which I mistakenly identified as follows...

@jupitusphillip Have a can of Sainsbury's 'Taste The Difference' plum tomatoes. May put them up against Sainsburys own and have a 'tinned plum tomato-off'
5:46 PM Feb 17th via web

As it turned out, what I had in my cupboard was a tin of Sainsbury's taste the difference and one of Waitrose Organic. Then I realised that there were quite a few supermarkets most of which these days made most of their leading grocery products available in budget, regular and posh varieties. Also in addition to the supermarkets own brands, there were tried and trusted producers like Napolina and Cirio out there as well. Just sat there and pondering this, I realised that within 20 minutes of my front door I could lay my hands on around 20-30 different kinds of tinned tomato.

Now I quite like regularity. I ate weetabix for breakfast every day for years as a kid, right up until the delicious biscuits were turned into a kind of wheaty skinhead by the marketing men... ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3E2SJ4B7U ) So the idea of having tomatoes on toast once a day quite appealed. I could either have it for breakfast or dinner, and I dare say if push came to shove I could have them for my tea as well. So I had the two varieties in my cupboard (see above) to which I added the following when I nipped to the shops

Sainsbury's so organic
Sainsbury's basics
Sainsbury's premium
Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Cherry Tomatoes
Napolina Peeled Plum Tomatoes

From Lidl I obtained a generic can of Pomodori Pelati and a name brand called Nostia From the garage M&S on the London Road in Westcliff I got a standard can of their own peeled plum tomatoes. Then I received this message...

@jupitusphillip We obviously think that our Suma tomatoes make the very best #tomsontoast !!! Can we send you a tin to try? :D
1:38 PM Feb 18th via web in reply to jupitusphillip

So now I had purchased eight tins, and had two on the way in the post, and had several retail outlets near home yet to visit. So in order to give this experiment a bit of a control element I had to set a few rules.

1. Tomatoes always heated on the hob. Never microwaved.
2. I use 2 slices of Waitrose Wholemeal Uncut Organic Tin bread cut to about 15mm and done in my electric toaster on setting 6 (well done)
3. I use Yeo Valley organic butter on the toast.
4. The only condiment I will be using is ground white pepper. I am a big fan of Lea & Perrins or even the excellent Hendersons on tomatoes on toast, but the flavour is so strong, I think it obscures the taste of what you're eating.
5. The tomatoes are forked out of the pan and placed on the buttered toast. I then reduce and stir the juice for a minute or two on a high gas heat and then pour a little of this thickened liquid on each slice.

As far as controls go, the above is far as I am prepared to take it. Obviously this thing seems to have rather taken off on Twitter. Lots of people have sent me some really mad variations. One favourite was the dude who 'drizzled' salad cream on his at the end. I think the word he was looking for was 'slathered'. Another popular one is apparently adding an oxo cube while they're simmering. Some of you add, mustard, cream, chiles, chilli powder, bacon, chorizo, onion, peppers, mushrooms. That's all very inspiring and inventive of you, but I kind of like the plainness. Once I've finished this thing and have isolated a favourite brand, then I might have a splash or Worcester Sauce, or indeed have them with bacon and scramble. But for now, I'm keeping it old skool like my mum made. Also lots of you have been putting cheese on top which then prompts others to say "THAT'S PIZZA!" Well, no it's not, but I know what you mean. I can't say this enough, do whatever floats your boat. It's nice that some of you are experimenting. Some of the photographs have been worthy of the glossiest of food mags.

Lots of people have said things like "I don't like tomatoes." and some of them have got quite belligerent about it. Well so what, I don't like sweetcorn, but if I saw someone talking about it I wouldn't feel fucking excluded or offended. The bloke who said "I don't like tomatoes, what should I eat..." I dunno, beans, tuna, an apple? One absolute belter was "I don't like tomatoes, how should I eat them?" I can answer that very easily. You fucking SHOULDN'T!

iF YOU DON'T LIKE TOMATOES OR FIND IT BORING THEN PLEASE JUST UNFOLLOW ME.

Quite a few questions are regularly asked, the first few of which I answered people directly, but then I noticed I was starting to repeat myself so here we go...

#tomsontoast FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

"What's this #tomsontoast thing all about?"
Well, for now, see above. (But if you notice something on Twitter that you've arrived in the middle of then just try following the Tweetstream back and you'll find the point at which a strand started.)

"Are you eating tomatoes on toast every day? Won't you get bored?"
Again, see above but as I said to somebody who asked this, there are many foods and beverages we eat or drink as a matter of routine which don't become boring to us. Tea, coffee, bread and so on. And I should stress, this is only one meal a day.And for fucks sake its only food. It is fuel for our bodies. A bit of fruit and some carbs and some fat.

"Aren't you trying different breads as well?"
For me, the point of this is to test the tomatoes and hopefully find a favourite brand, so I just found a very simple unfussy bread that I like so the comparison would be consistent. If I factored different breads in as well then this thing would last for fucking years.

"Are you comparing them for value for money?"
Not really as prices seem to vary wildly around the country. Somebody told me that Sainsburys basics were 19p, whereas thay were closer to 40p. Also part of the reason that I'm doing this is that tinned tomatoes are one of the cheapest and most basic foods on the shelves regardless. Truth be told I think that paying north of 50p for a tin of tomatoes is a bit daft, even though I am doing it more often than not. The prices of the tins I review are probably available online.

"What kinds have you tried so far?"
Sainsbury's Taste The Difference - "thick very tasty juice and five whole quite firm tomatoes, not in any way damaged, very tasty indeed..."
Waitrose Organic - "nicer than Sainsbury's TTD, Juice slightly thinner, tomatoes (6) have softer texture and sweeter flavour..."
Suma Organic - "Lovely natural flavours, none of the tartness you can get, 6 quite firm tomatoes in a thinner juice than TTD... V.nice"
Fortuna peeled plum tomatoes - (Waitrose), "juice a bit watery, tomatoes still had some skin on, Flavour okay, no better."
Essential Waitrose - 2 large, 3 small, sweet, sharp rich flavour and nice yielding texture... My favourite variety thus far...
Marks & Spencer Peeled Plum Tomatoes - Bar raised by M&S, beautiful soft texture and flavour. Not too sweet. Smaller & more dessicated than other kinds. My favourites so far...
Heinz Peeled Tomatoes - 7 toms, 2 quite firm, 5 soft, least amount of juice so far, some bits of skin, good fruity flavour, overall not bad...
Mr. Organic - straight into top slot, subtle flavour and balanced texture 7 toms, perfect juice... wow! However, were freebies.
Happy Shopper - 6 toms, watery juice, soft texture to fruit, slightly sharp taste but not unpleasant. Toast did go a bit soggy
Biona Organic - only 3 large toms, but more salty than sweet savoury taste, juice delicious, fruit firm with some give. New leader!
Somerfield Simply Value - 6 over soft toms, juice too watery, flavour a bit too acid, and stalks/skin in evidence. Naaah...
Cirio - 6 medium sized toms, varying texture, gentle naturally sweet flavour, very nice juice when reduced...
Solania San Marzano - Wow! No escaping the quality, 4 toms, best juice by a mile, sweet subtle flavour but not £1.75 worth...
Napolina Organic - Worst so far, not a full can, only 4 toms and too much citric acid in juice... Dreadful aftertaste. Avoid.
Epicure - Almost completely tasteless, 6/7 toms in a thick-ish juice, slightly tart edge, hardest texture so far, unpleasant.
Sainsburys So Organic - 2 huge & 1 medium tom in a very watery juice. Texture quite hard. Variable flavour. Average at best.
Co-op - 5 soft medium sized toms in a thick juice. Slightly tart flavour but some saltiness gives balance. Not at all bad.
Trattoria Verdi - 1 huge & 3 med-small soft toms in passatta-like juice, rich natural flavour, best discount brand so far (33p)
Sainsbury's Premium - 6 small soft toms in watery juice. The slightly acidic edge fails to mask a rather flavourless product...
Sweet Harvest - Only 4.5 medium toms in a thin juice but a quite nice sweet taste & medium firmness... Not too bad at all...

"What are your favourites so far?"
#1 Solania San Marzano
#2 Biona Organic
#3 Mr. Organic
#4 M&S Peeled Plum Tomatoes
#5 Suma Organic

"Are you testing chopped tomatoes as well?"
No because, they're a bit too sloppy. To cook chopped tomatoes for toast, I would fry half an onion in butter in a small pan. Drain the juice from the chopped toms and fry them. Then when they're done, set aside in a bowl, Then reduce the juice in the same pan. Then what I'd have there is more like bruschetta.

"Will you be doing beans next?"
I fucking hope not. I don't want to turn into the Twitter consumer watchdog, I just have a curiosity about tomatoes, albeit a quite powerful one...

"Are you doing fresh tomatoes as well?"
No, because that would be too much like proper cooking, knives, oven pans etc... Also I'm not that much of a fan of uncooked fresh tomatoes on toast.

Doesn't the toast get soggy?
It shouldn't because you just fork whole tomatoes on, then you reduce your juice over a high heat and spoon just a little of it on. If you just pour the lot over and don't thicken it first then yes, you will get soggy toast. Also some brands seem to have very juicy fruit that kind of bursts over the toast when you cut into them.

Shouldn't you be more scientific, blind testing, more than 1 can etc...?
You want more scientific, then you fucking do it.

You do know they're probably all canned by the same company don't you?
Yes. Yes I do.

"Will you be publishing your results?"
They're just above. I won't be taking it any further.

"Why are you doing this?"
Like the people who ask "Why did you block me?" the answer is the same. Because I can. It's not science, it's not serious. It is just something to do for a bit of a laugh on Twitter and at the same time I will find out my favourite brand.

Are you turning red?
No.

You should try fresh tomatoes!
Probably but I'm testing tinned ones.

"I bet you're shitting more, right!"
Not really. Thanks for asking.

At the moment I have twenty two cans in the cupboard at home but I have yet to check the following possible sources...
Fortnum & Masons
Selfridges
Harrods
Carluccios
Italian Delis
Holland & Barrett
Asda
Morrisons
Online

If you do come across a variety you think I might not have tried, or you know of one, then let me know via the comment box below or feel free to tweet a photo. I have heard that there's a posh italian variety that goes for north of two quid a can. Desperate to get hold of some of those.

Please keep sending photos of your own variations and experiments with the whole thing, they are a lot of fun to receive and some of them are quite instructional. http://www.flickr.com/photos/43882914@N07/

I'd like to thank the lovely people at both Suma Organic and Mister Organic for the freebies, which of course I can in no way be impartial about now...

It's just a laugh, relax...

Jupitus