Ingredients
Uncompromised Ingredients = Delicious Food
At Terlato Kitchen we craft artisanal foods using simple, straightforward recipes that let the ingredients shine. We follow the Terlato family tradition of using only the most flavorful and highest-quality ingredients in preparing tried and true family recipes and developing new favorites inspired by travels around the world. We are committed to using very few and only the best ingredients, resulting in all natural, healthy and delicious products. When you enjoy Terlato Kitchen small batch foods, you will taste the difference an uncompromised focus on quality makes.
Terlato Family Tomato Tasting
As vintners, the Terlatos strive for perfection. Process improvement is carried out to the finest detail. Grapes are tasted time and again. Alternative materials and methods are explored. Everyone involved is challenged to do their best and never settle for less. Of course this approach carries over to everything they do.
When John Terlato decided to create our inaugural specialty food product, Terlato Pomodoro Sauce, the approach was the same. Only the most amazingly delicious San Marzano variety tomatoes were selected using an extensive tasting process.
In creating a proper salsa di pomodoro (tomato sauce), it is all about the tomatoes! To make certain our star ingredient shines, we gathered samples of San Marzano tomatoes from farmers throughout Italy’s Agro Sarnese-Nocerino region near Naples to find out who packed this season’s best. As with other agricultural crops, every year is different.
The Terlatos personally hand-inspected each sample batch and eliminated those of lesser quality. Every tomato was examined for imperfections. Those growers whose tomatoes did not remain whole, were removed from consideration. The perfect fire red San Marzano tomato tastes of the sun with a unique sweetness and low acidity compared to other varieties.
Once the samples were carefully narrowed down to two or three, they were used to make test batches of Pomodoro Sauce using the Terlato family recipe. The sauces were tasted alone and used as a base in other recipes. Again, the samples were narrowed down based upon taste, color and texture until this year’s preferred farmer emerged.
When you choose Pomodoro Sauce from Terlato Kitchen, you can rest assured that the hard work has been done for you. Each bottle holds the best Italy has to offer.
Known as “The King of Tomatoes,” the beautiful San Marzano variety tomato is grown in a small agricultural region of Italy, Agro Sarnese-Nocerino near Naples. The village of San Marzano is located within the region that rests in a valley off of the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. It is this nutrient-rich, volcanic soil combined with fresh Mediterranean Sea air and plenty of sunshine that provides the perfect tomato-growing environment.
Some mystery surrounds the San Marzano tomato’s origin. It is said that the first San Marzano tomato seeds were a gift from the King of Peru to the King of Naples in the 1770s. Most agree, that it is instead a hybrid of the Fiascona, Fiaschella and the King Umberto varieties originally grown in the region. Whether carried across the ocean as a royal gesture, or carefully blended to perfection by farmers, connoisseurs of the San Marzano are thankful.
Characteristics such as the San Marzano tomato’s sweet, firm flesh and small amount of seeds make it ideal for sauce. Many chefs and Italian cooks will not substitute with any other variety. The perfect specimen is fire red and elongated in shape. The San Marzano is particularly easy to peel and is most often harvested at its peak for canning whole. It is said to remain “live” in the can resulting in a taste as close to the vine as it gets.
At Terlato Kitchen, our Pomodoro Sauce is crafted from the season’s best San Marzano tomatoes. We sampled this year’s crop and selected the finest for you to enjoy. Once you taste our sauce, you will know why they crowned it “The King of Tomatoes” and fall in love with this delicious variety enjoyed by our family for generations.