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Hi Denis -
We never tested this with canned tomatoes since we were adapting an authentic recipe we had in Mexico made with fresh tomatoes, so we can't give a substitution recommendation. That being said, it should definitely work with canned tomatoes. Just hard to know and exact amount to substitute with without testing it.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
You're kidding, right? You feature—on the *cover* of Jan/Feb 2022 no less—a recipe which calls for fresh tomatoes? And you didn't even test it with canned? Please take the extra step in the future and *know your audience*. The majority of your subscribers are in North America and getting fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter is a laughable prospect. Save publication of recipes like this for August or September!
Now, that said, I'm hoping Denis will report back on the experience of using canned in this. A pity a reader has to do the legwork the magazine staff should have done.
Hi Sean -
I understand that this seems an odd choice for January/February, but soup is an ideal winter meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes from the supermarket are perfect for this recipe (it's what we used), always ripe, and are widely available.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
Hi Sean -
I understand that this seems an odd choice for January/February, but soup is an ideal winter meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes from the supermarket are perfect for this recipe (it's what we used), always ripe, and are widely available.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
You're kidding, right? You feature—on the *cover* of Jan/Feb 2022 no less—a recipe which calls for fresh tomatoes? And you didn't even test it with canned? Please take the extra step in the future and *know your audience*. The majority of your subscribers are in North America and getting fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter is a laughable prospect. Save publication of recipes like this for August or September!
Now, that said, I'm hoping Denis will report back on the experience of using canned in this. A pity a reader has to do the legwork the magazine staff should have done.
Hi Sean -
I understand that this seems an odd choice for January/February, but soup is an ideal winter meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes from the supermarket are perfect for this recipe (it's what we used), always ripe, and are widely available.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
Hi Sean -
I understand that this seems an odd choice for January/February, but soup is an ideal winter meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes from the supermarket are perfect for this recipe (it's what we used), always ripe, and are widely available.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
All right Ms Clark, I am appropriately chastised.
The temperature plummeted here and I needed some hot soup badly, so I decided to try your advice and use the tomatoes-on-the-vine. Now, I've since learned that those TOVs are picked at the "breaking" stage rather than green, and the vine probably does nothing to affect flavor. But keeping the vine intact encourages better handling, so they tomatoes arrive at the store in better condition for having been picked later.
The soup cooked up nicely, and the tomato flavor was subtle, providing more of a sweet/umami backdrop against the herbal niceties of the cilantro and sharpness of the onion. I think I would've used even more chipotle as I like things spicy and smoky. My local store was out of zucchini (incredibly) but they did have chayote which I substituted, and I'm glad I did because it was fantastic in the soup. Its firmer flesh held up to the cooking and gave a great textural contrast. Maybe it made it more authentic—I don't know! The habanero salsa made for a beautiful drizzle.
In any case, I remain sufficiently upbraided—but also abundantly warm thanks to you and Milk Street.
Warmly,
—SK
Would this still be good with canned tomatoes?