When Dei Fratelli asked me if I’d like to try some of their gluten-free tomato products I said – yes!  I cook a lot with tomatoes – after all, what can’t you make with some ground beef and tomatoes?  More importantly, there’s is a fourth generation family owned company that includes only fresh and natural, vine-riped ingredients in their tasty sauces, canned tomatoes, salsas, and more.

The Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (both gluten and corn free) was so delicious that I was, ahem, eating it out of the pot while I was preparing it for my family.  A light, tasty blend of flavours with basil (yummy!), by the time it made it onto the pasta it thinned down in intensity and needed a bit more salt, but it was still quite savory (try it out of the pot!!)  Quite a few pasta sauces include corn syrup, which my oldest child is allergic to, so this was a convenient way to have a quick pasta meal for us without needing to make sauce from scratch.

Dei Fratelli also makes canned tomatoes – diced, whole, seasoned, stewed, salt-free – you name it!  Their top-selling diced tomato is the Seasoned Diced Tomato, and oh it is good!  It does have corn starch included in the ingredients, but the fresh blend of tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic and celery was superb!  It is incredibly good, subtly spicy and can easily be added to many meat dishes, soups, omlettes – many applications!

The large can of all-purpose Italian Sauce also includes corn starch as an ingredient, and is a great base for any Italian-style.  This would be delicious on manicotti, tomato soup, a base for pasta sauce, and ahem – on toast.  The thing that continously impresses me about Dei Fratelli is the fresh, never tinny flavour of their products.  Because there are no preservatives they taste as good as homemade – never any funny flavours to impinge upon the olive oil, onion, basil and garlic that mingle together in this sauce.

My favourite though, is the Original Medium Salsa.  I love salsa, and Dei Fratelli’s is so good!  It’schunky, zesty, and filled with vine-ripened tomatoes, zesty peppers, onions, and garlic, yet is mild enough for anyone in the family to enjoy – even children.  I found that the heat ratings are fairly low – the medium was quite mild, so if you like a hot salsa, go up one notch from what you usually buy.  It’s good enough to eat on it’s own – and is corn free!

So, there you have it, I’ve openly admitted that I eat yummy tomato sauces with nothing else to go along with  them – ahem.  If you want to  get a bit of something more filling with your Dei Fratelli (the brothers), you can check out their frugal recipe suggestions at their website.  Their claim to fame is without a doubt the fresh, clean taste of each product and the careful blending of subtle flavours.  Look for their cans and jars in your local grocery store, you won’t be disappointed!