Vine Ripened Tomatoes
Although tomatoes originated in the Americas, it was the Neapolitans who first dared eat the pomi d'oro or “love apple,” which was considered to be poisonous until the 1500s. Ah! What a gift – especially when the Italians arranged its exquisite marriage with pasta!

Michael Angelo’s believes that rich, ripe tomatoes are one of life’s finest pleasures, which is why we only use the absolute best vine-ripened tomatoes in our recipes. Many companies pick their tomatoes green, then gas them to force ripening just before processing. We grow our tomatoes once a year from our own specially developed seed, pick them when they are red, ripe and full of flavor—and can them right in the fields.

We don’t pack our tomatoes in tankers or drums for long shipment, as do many companies. As processed tomatoes cool, we’ve found that the container size affects their taste, color and texture. Only the size #10 can (about seven pounds) meets our stringent guidelines for preserving this treasured ingredient.

Some people have told us that we’re crazy to go through all this effort just to make tomato sauce. But at Michael Angelo’s, we’re not making just any sauce; we’re making the sauce that Sara serves her own family, and we want it right.

“ When we first began looking to buy tomatoes for seed, we went to a food convention. There were all these cans of tomatoes on the tables with these little sheets that tell you the yield per acre, whether they are drought-resistant, etc. So I walked up to this salesman and said, ‘That’s a really nice sheet, but we’re food people and we have no idea what these tomatoes are going to look and taste like.’
“ And he’s like, ‘Huh? Whaddya wanna know that for?’
“ We finally convinced them to open up a can, and Mom and I began looking at them, checking the moisture content, cutting them… Then we tasted them – and you should have seen their faces! They couldn’t believe we were TASTING the tomatoes!
“ Soon, we started getting invited by all the seed companies to work with their R & D to help them develop their seeds. I still can’t believe that no one had ever asked to taste their tomatoes before!” – Michael

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
The richly flavored Roma tomatoes used our delicious sauces were developed specifically for Michael Angelo’s. We insist that they be allowed to bask in the sun-drenched fields until they reach the perfect stage of ripeness, then we can them right in the fields.

Organic Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
Our organic line of Roma tomatoes meets the demanding specifications of such organizations as Whole Foods Market. As with all our tomatoes, they are vine ripened for the richest taste then canned in the field to preserve their unique flavor. Most importantly, they provide many health benefits. The deeper red color indicates a higher amount of lycopene and beta carotene. When organic tomatoes are cooked, these benefits are released at a substantially higher level. Cook them with olive oil (as we do) and the antioxidant power is even further enhanced allowing your body to absorb it to a greater degree.