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SMART SHOPPING: Diced Tomatoes

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Unlike most types of canned produce, which pale in comparison to their fresh counterparts, a great can of diced tomatoes offers flavor almost every bit as intense as that of ripe, in-season fruit. We gathered 16 brands and tasted them plain and in tomato sauce to find the best brand. To our surprise, nearly half fell short. Factors such as geography and additives played into whether or not a sample rated highly in our tasting. Our top-ranked tomatoes were grown in California, source of most of the world’s tomatoes, where the dry, hot growing season develops sweet, complex flavor. Tasters also favored those with more salt. In the end, we found our winner in Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes, which was praised for its “fresh,” “bright” flavor.