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Found in kitchens everywhere, tinned tomatoes are the foundation for classic dishes like bolognese or chili, and they can be incredibly affordable, starting at just 43p in supermarkets.

When it comes to everyday staples, canned tomatoes are as fundamental as it gets.

However, enthusiasts argue that Mutti offers something unique.

The distinctive red, blue, and white cans, produced by a family-operated company with a 127-year legacy, claim to provide ‘chopped tomatoes like never before,’ according to their packaging.

Being crafted entirely from Italian tomatoes that are cultivated, harvested, and processed with meticulous care, Mutti has garnered a devoted following among middle-class food aficionados.

Tins – which will set you back between £1.60 and £2 (for the organic variety) at supermarkets – are now being stocked at upmarket delicatessens and farm shops – and celebrity chefs including Gennaro Contaldo and Aldo Zilli refuse to use any other.

Fans, who call themselves ‘Muttiholics’ on social media, have racked up millions of views for videos of themselves raving about the tomatoes’ rich flavour and texture.

As a result, they’re flying off the shelves: in the UK alone, more than £43 million worth of Mutti tomatoes were sold last year, an increase of 32 per cent on 2024’s sales.

Today, the brand accounts for 11.6 per cent of the British tinned tomato market. With UK consumers eating around 500 million tins a year, that’s a whopping 58 million Mutti tins being selected from shelves.

But are Mutti tomatoes really worth the hype – and their vastly inflated price tag? Or, like posh beans, flavoured butter and sourdough bread before them, are they simply the latest foodie fad, an ingenious marketing exercise that has conned middle-class cooks?

As a food writer and cookbook author, I confess I’ve been taken in by the Mutti obsession, and have been splashing out on the finely chopped ‘Polpa’ tins (£1.65 at my Waitrose) for several months.

I like to think they make my pasta sauce richer, my pizza base more authentic and my chilli full of flavour, but that may all be in my head; and neither my children nor my husband have noticed any difference in their dinners.

Mutti itself, headed by Francesco Mutti who is the fourth generation to run the Parma-based company, insists its products are markedly better than any others.

Rather than using the better-known San Marzano tomato variety, often prized as a marker of quality, the company uses ’round of Parma’, an intensely flavoured type known for its sweet-sour taste and bright red colour – and not used in any other tins sold in this country.

While fresh ones are full of vitamin C, tinned tomatoes may in fact be better for you because of the presence of lycopene.

‘Lycopene is a plant pigment responsible for the bright ruby-red colour of tomatoes, and is currently under-researched for its potential benefits for heart and skin health,’ registered nutritionist Lily Soutter tells me.

‘The heat involved in the canning and processing of tomatoes breaks down their cellular walls, which allows the lycopene to be more easily absorbed.’

However, she adds, if you really want to know what’s in your tin of tomatoes – and how good it is for you – it’s important to look at the ingredients list.

‘Some canned tomatoes come with added tomato juice, which may account for up to 40 per cent of the contents, resulting in a more diluted product. Many also include citric acid as a preservative. Some may come with a small amount of added salt – look for those with less than 0.3g per 100g.’

At first glance, Mutti’s chopped tomatoes look good: the ingredients are simply 99.8 per cent tomatoes and salt (0.3g per 100g).

But an examination of other leading brands reveals very similar ratios: Napolina, the UK’s number one cooking brand, lists its tomato content as 99.9 per cent, although this comprises chopped tomatoes and juice as well as citric acid, and Waitrose Finely Chopped Italian Tomatoes boasts 70 per cent tomato content.

There’s also the tin itself to consider. Some contain Bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used to make plastics which acts as a barrier between the metal and the contents, extending shelf life.

Mutti has used BPA-free tins for its tomatoes since 2014, as has Cirio, but Napolina – and several other well-known brands – may still use the chemical as a lining.

‘If in doubt, tomatoes are also widely available in glass jars or cartons,’ says nutritionist Kim Pearson.

But which tastes best? Is Mutti really the Ferrari of the canned tomato world, or will a cheapo tin of toms from Tesco do just as well? 

Branded tins

RATING: 5/5 

With its heritage branding and 99.8 per cent tomatoes, this tin makes big claims – and lives up to them. The pieces inside are noticeably bigger than other brands, with huge chunks of sweet, ripe, delicately flavoured tomato – and no yellow or green bits, seeds or excess juice.

It looks and tastes like a premium product and makes my pasta sauce fragrant, rich and mellow.

RATING: 2/5 

The Naples-origins market leader claims what’s inside its tins aren’t ‘just tomatoes… They’re a revelation’. I beg to differ. Although the ingredients list shows 99.9 per cent tomatoes, at least a fifth of the tin is watery, insipid juice that does nothing to enrich my cooking. The citric acid, a preservative to balance the sweetness, makes them taste bitter, too. But a bonus is the low salt content: just 0.1g per 100g.

RATING: 3/5

Cirio tinned tomatoes are made in the same region of Italy as their competitor. The chunks are well-sized, intact and not mushy, and they smell like a burst of Italian summer.

But they’re slightly sweeter than others (sugar content is 3.4g per 100g, compared to Mutti’s 2.8g) and don’t add quite the same complexity of flavour to my stew.

High-end supermarket tins

RATING: 5/5

These have a high tomato content (70 per cent) for a supermarket tin, but are also almost a third juice and citric acid. There is 0g salt per 100g, so all the flavour comes from the fruit. They’re juicy, sharp and taste like sunshine – a decent middle-range choice at a good price.

RATING: 4/5

Packed full of authentic Italian tomatoes, this can has the added benefit of being organic – meaning the fruit is grown with fewer pesticides, no artificial colours or preservatives and no GM ingredients.

The fruit inside is fresh and ruby-red – no green bits or tough stalks – and the tomato content is 65 per cent, which isn’t bad for a supermarket brand, plus juice and citric acid. The salt is just 0.03g per 100g, and there’s 3.4g sugar.

RATING: 1/5

With 65 per cent organic chopped tomatoes, organic tomato juice and citric acid, these sound good – and each purchase supports King Charles’s environmental, educational and humanitarian fund. That said, it’s the most expensive tin in supermarkets.

The tomatoes inside aren’t Italian, and the flavour speaks for itself – it’s duller, blander and more bitter than others I’ve tasted. Not one I’ll be trying again.

RATING: 1/5

Value own-brand tins

Stamford Street Chopped Tomatoes in Juice (43p, Sainsbury’s)

A cupboard staple in my house, this budget tin contains 60 per cent tomatoes, juice and citric acid. Though packed in Italy, it’s not clear if the tomatoes themselves are Italian.

The salt, sugar and fat content are low, and the chunks – far from being squashed and watery – are red, plump and fragrant. They cook down well to make a glossy pasta sauce.

RATING: 4/5

Grower’s Harvest Chopped Tomatoes (43p, Tesco)

The same price as the Stamford Street tin, with an identical ingredients list, this Tesco offering is a big disappointment. The pieces look like unappetising scraps, rather than quality chunks, and the flavour is overwhelmingly acidic.

It adds more liquid (concentrated tomato juice makes up 40 per cent of a can) to my cooking than substance, and I’m left with a bitter, unpleasant aftertaste.

RATING: 0/5

Asda Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (47p, Asda)

Grown in Italy and making up 65 per cent of each tin, the tomatoes in this Asda product taste ripe and flavoursome – a real surprise for such a budget buy. They’re a lovely red colour and the flesh is succulent and meaty, comparable to some of the big brands.

Per 100g, each tin contains just 0.01g salt and 3.8g sugar, so it’s good for you too.

RATING: 5/5