It can be confusing as some people use the terms interchangeably so it all depends on the recipe you are using. But "technically" ;) they are 2 different things. Crushed tomatoes - peel (boiling water dip), core, and chop. Then can them. Think of them as "soupy mashed tomatoes" with seeds. If the recipe tells you to run them through a processor before canning that gets rid of the seeds but it is still "soupier" than sauce. sauce - is pureed tomatoes with all the seeds removed and is thicker. Peel, core, and then cook the tomatoes until soft and run them through a food mill or Vittorio strainer. It removes all the seeds and any remaining cores and all you are left with is the "juice" and pulp. Then cook it down over low heat to 1/2 its starting volume. Then can it. Then there is "paste" - it is sauce cooked down to 1/2 its starting volume AGAIN so it is even thicker than sauce. A spoon will stand up in it. If you want seasoned sauce/paste you need to add your various seasonings to the cooking till soft stage BEFORE you run them through the mill/strainer. Hope this helps. ;) Dave

ath, The Cold Set plant with the Old Tomato-tone looks much greener and has multiple flowers. The Ed's Millennium is quite apparent. The only "measurement" that I will be doing is Taste difference (if any), and secondly, quantity of production. Too early to make any conclusions other than to say there is a noticeable difference between the two formulations. Hopefully, the New Tomato-tone will surpass the Old. gobig, I found the MG with MC held too much water for my EarthTainer setup last season, and switched to using MG without MC. It was 25% cheaper on a cu. ft. basis as well, and worked better for me. Your results may vary........ Raybo

I think I have answered this in another forum, but I think both books are great. Someone else pointed that Goldman's book has stuff such as recipes that are not present in Carolyn's book. On the other hand, Carolyn's book does work better as a field guide for maters, as it has presentations of each type of mater, and it's foilage, plus it's size and format are more for usage, and less for coffee table viewing. If you gotta buy one, I can't make that call for you. Carolyn's seed sources are a little out-dated, which she has stated herself I believe. Other than that, her book is a great read and is very useful to have, as is Goldman's book. Good luck.

All of the above. Canned or homemade. Crushed tomatoes are whole tomatoes which have been reduced to pulp but not blended or strained like puree. You can build a rustic sauce on them and use them for things that have a tomato base. Tomato puree is tomatoes that are blended smooth, with or without the skin and seeds. The main building block of your classic red sauce. Tomato paste is the same thing cooked down to remove most of the water. Add to anything for an enhanced tomato flavor. Even when watered down, the flavor is stronger, more like sundried tomatoes. The Italian lady I learned spaghetti sauce from uses two small cans of paste to one large can of puree. You could substitute sundried tomatoes whirred in a food processor with a little liquid, but taste. Some sundried tomatoes have an equivalent flavor, and some are much more intense. Extra concentrated tomato paste is the same thing with even less water--it's what comes in the tube. Usually used by the dab squeezed into a sauce (the kind for a dish you're serving, not a big kettle of spaghetti sauce). Tomato sauce in a can is generally thinner than tomato puree, is cooked, and has a basic amount of herbs and spices in it. Enough to give flavor but not enough that you can't overlay your own flavor. Added to many recipes, especially those that have shortcuts, as the base for a quick spaghetti sauce (added to sautéed veg and meat, with some amendments) or marinara (ditto). Often seen in recipes for chili, soup, etc. Often used straight out of the can instead of pizza sauce. All around short cut. Other common tomato products are diced, whole and stewed. Diced and whole are obviously for when you want tomato chunks. They're packed with juice which you can include or not depending on how much liquid you need. Stewed tomatoes are used in particular recipes. They're long cooked, and often flavored. All canned tomato products have a lot of salt unless labelled otherwise. I never add salt when I use them, or perhaps at the end if it's needed.