Napolina chopped tinned tomatoes are something I don't buy...I always buy the budget range tinned tomatoes. However, my husband bought these the other day so I used them to make bolognaise and compared them to the tomatoes I would usually buy.

Firstly, the cost. Apparently they cost around 80p for a 400g tin. I am used to paying around 40p, maybe a bit less, so we are talking twice the price. I have seen Napolina Tomatoes in multi packs and have also seen them on special offer. If they were down to my usual 40p I have to say I would buy them instead of the budget range tomatoes.

I like the label on the tin, it is black with the Napolina logo and a picture of some juicy looking chopped tomatoes on it. It tells me these tomatoes are in a rich tomato juice, and looking at the ingredients I see that tomato juice has been added. This is where they differ from my usual tin of tomatoes. You may have guessed, these tomatoes are Italian, and I am also told on the tin that they are grown in sun drenched Italy by local farmers ensuring that we get the best quality fruit ripened and sweetened under the Italian sun. So, it's all sounding pretty impressive so far!

When you open the tin these tomatoes do look vastly different from those I am used to. Because of the tomato juice (I think) they are a really rich red and smell lovely. I have to say, the budget range tomatoes are quite watery looking when you open them and not all that appetising.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating so they say, so I went ahead and made my bolognaise. It certainly looked a lot richer than usual, and I didn't need to add any tomato puree. It also smelt more tomatoey when it was cooking. As for the taste, I have to conclude that maybe, just maybe it did taste a little bit nicer! It was richer and had more sweetness. However, it didn't taste good enough to turn me away from my 40p tin! As I said before, if they were on offer and at or near the same price as the budget range, I'd buy them.

I only use tinned tomatoes in pasta dishes, chilli, curries etc. If you are someone who like tomatoes on toast, then these are probably worth the extra money.

Nice......but not that nice!