Direct from the Garden State, tantalizing tomatoes for making your homemade pizza go "pop!"

It's Thursday morning. Outside, the sun is shining. Inside, this place is dimly lit and looks like a punk-rock nightclub. But I'm busy disappearing down a rabbit hole of bright tasting, sunlit pomodoro fantastico. 

We're in the City of Brotherly Love, inside the lobby of a storied, 1908 theater, now known as The Fillmore Philadelphia by Live Nation. And it's filled not with demi-monde nightcrawlers and leather-clad punks, but with middle-aged, coffee-swilling pizza professionals ready for networking and making deals.

In my hand is a little white, paper sample cup. I have a tiny wooden spoon, and I'm greedily consuming Jersey Fresh tomatoes and thinking, "Wow." My tastebuds are enthralled.
 
Good tomatoes should make your tastebuds sing. They should make you do a little dance. And I'm doing that little dance in this unlikely place because (as you know) I have a pizza problem.

Above is an unretouched photo of the product on display at the First Field booth at PizzaCon 2024.


​The event is PizzaCon 2024. It's the inaugural edition of the new pizza-biz trade show brought to you by the friendly folks of Pizza Today magazine. They produce the stupendous, world-famous, intergalactic International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. That event is huge and sprawling with all the glitz and glamor you’d expect of a Vegas tradeshow.
 
The new PizzaCon is a much smaller, one-day affair. It clocks in with a low-key intimacy you’d expect from a regional trade show full of people who are passionate about their craft.

And I'm standing in this funky space, hoovering down crushed tomatoes and getting my umami on with my new favorite contender for best canned tomatoes, Princeton, New Jersey-based First Field. (No, that is not an affiliate link, but there are a few coming up.)

I'm experiencing the joy of new tomato love. You might, too. And these babies are easy to obtain if you're like me and enjoy the Christmas morning-like excitement of fantastic gourmet products arriving on your doorstep in a plain brown box. 
 
I’m not sure what’s better—that these are New Jersey tomatoes, or that this is a family-owned business that evolved as a kind of result of COVID. Either way, the tomatoes are excellent.

(Photo courtesy of First Field)

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They also check so many good boxes. First Field is a small business, it's a family business, theirs is an appealing story, they're easy to feel good about, and most important: they taste great.

The masterminds behind the brand are the husband & wife team of Theresa Viggiano and Patrick Leger. He has an MBA in Finance and she’s completed study for her PhD in Health Services. This is how you know a business is gonna work: two very smart people are in charge, including one who knows finance.

In other words, at first blush, this might seem like a pipe-dream passion project. But it’s backed by advanced pros with an understanding of both process and economics. 

​While I was speaking to Patrick at their booth in the Fillmore lobby, he mentioned how their business started with an honor-system farm stand at the bottom of their driveway. He seemed almost giddy at the idea that you’d put fresh produce on a table by the road. Then, at the end of the day you’d come down and the produce would be gone, and there was a box full of money. I guess there’s a kind of lemonade-stand joy involved. And I can’t say that I blame him.

Patrick and Theresa, tomatopreneurs. (Photo courtesy of First Field)

 
You may know that I often preach the gospel of Bianco DiNapoli organic California tomatoes. And I’ve not changed my stance on that. Also, I’ve long recommended authentic DOP San Marzano tomatoes—with the caveat that they’re expensive and hard to find. (Same with Bianco DiNapoli. I buy them in six-packs on Amazon.) I still love them both. 

But there's always room in my life for another great tomato. Enter stage left: First Field. I admit, was just a little shocked to taste such a great tomato product bearing the badge of Jersey Fresh.

Jersey agriculture products are quite good, tomatoes especially. Still, we condition ourselves to certain expectations. It’s nice to have them so pleasantly thwarted.

One reason New Jersey tomatoes are so prized stems from the world-famous Rutgers tomato. It's a legendary cultivar in American agriculture. According to Wikipedia, the "hugely flavorful" Rutgers tomato was once the most popular in the world. That was before mechanized farming and the breeding of tomatoes for "durability over flavor." 

If you're of a certain age and you grew up loving fresh tomatoes, there's a good chance the Rutgers tomato is the reason why. It was also developed at Rutgers University, and the seeds are not patented. In a time of Big Ag patent lawsuits, that's a refreshing throwback to a more civil age. First Field's tomatoes are not Rutgers, but the non-scientific romantic inside me wants to say that there is Rutgers influence afoot. 

And for sure, First Field is a canned tomato that has flavor to burn. Without doing a side-by-side taste test, I have to admit that I find them every bit as big, rich, sweet, acidic and delightful as my other favorite tomatoes--possibly more so.
 
Pricewise, they cost as you’d expect for a premium tomato product. As an Amazon Prime customer, a six-pack of First Field 28-ounce cans would cost me 68 cents more than the same quantity of Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes.
 
However, just before writing this tomato rant, I went to the First Field website and ordered the same six-pack for a couple of bucks more. I don’t know if that helps First Field at all, but I figured I’d let them have the sale direct. I can still review them on Amazon.
 
By the way, First Field produces much more than just canned tomatoes. They have an entire line of products that launched with (yes, really) artisan ketchup. The line now covers jams, pie filling and all kinds of other pantry items. You can find all of them in the First Field store on their website, as well as in the First Field store on Amazon.
 
At some point in the near future, I hope to interview Patrick and Theresa about their business. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to that box of canned tomatoes arriving on my doorstep next week.

I'm looking forward to making some New Jersey tomato pie with some real Jersey Fresh tomatoes. And one of my favorite, and so-very-simple dishes is pasta al pomodoro. If you don't know it, it's just olive oil, garlic, basil and tomatoes cooked up in a pan and tossed with spaghetti or often angel hair.

There may be no better way to celebrate tomatoes--and no faster, easier way to make yourself look like a culinary genius. If you'd like my recipe for this dish, just fill out the contact form and in the comment section, just say "Pasta recipe, please." (Of course, anything else you wish to add is fine, too.) 
 
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