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Tinned tomatoes can save you a lot of work, are usually cheaper than buying fresh tomatoes (except for those few crazy weeks in late summer when green grocers are practically paying you to take tomatoes off their hands), and are often far more flavourful than the tomatoes we get for the rest of the year (read: 98% of the year.)

Consider always keeping tinned tomatoes on hand in large quantities. You can get them tinned whole, or tinned chopped. For most general cooking, it really doesn't matter which you get, though you can always buy some of each. When they're on sale next, consider doing a big stock-up, if you have the room.

For making large batches of spaghetti sauce or chili to freeze, you can get the huge "feed the Eastern European refugee trains" tins from big warehouses such as Costco/Price Club.

The only complication with tinned tomatoes is when recipes call for "1 can of tomatoes." You might have no idea whether they mean a small tin or a large tin. You just have to wing it like the rest of us. Either guess ahead of time by weighing up in your mind what the proportions of the other ingredients are, or open the large tin, use as much as seems right to you, and toss the rest in a freezer bag and freeze.

If recipes call for a can of tomatoes, drained, drain the tomatoes into a bowl through a colander, and then add the juice to a small tomato juice bag or tub in the freezer for making various sauces with in the future. You could drink it, too, if you like tomato juice.

Most Canned Tomatoes used to come from Italy, in particular the brand named "San Marzano", until the United States slapped a 100% tariff on them to encourage American consumers to buy Canned Tomatoes from California. Nice, hein?

Equivalents
A No. 2 can of tomatoes = 18 to 20 oz = 525 to 600 ml = 2 1/2 cups
A No. 2 1/2 can of tomatoes = 27 to 29 oz = 800 to 850 ml
A No. 300 can of tomatoes is 14 to16 oz = 415 to 475 ml
A No. 303 can of tomatoes is 16 to 17 oz = 475 ml to 500 ml
16 oz (475ml) can of tomatoes = 2 cups tomato and juice = 1 cup drained tomatoes
28 oz (825 ml) can of tomatoes = 3 cups tomato and juice = 2 cups tomato, drained
35 oz (1 litre) can = 4 cups undrained = 2 1/2 to 3 cups drained tomatoes.

Storage
In North America, there are no expiry dates on tinned goods. This is particularly ironic in Canada where by law there is French, metric, and nutrition information (in French and English) -- everything to satisfy all the policy wonks, but nothing basic that the consumer actually needs to know before opening the tin, such as is this tin old enough to kill you?

Some say canned tomatoes are good for two years; others say three years.

See Also:

Canned Vegetables

Other entries for:

Tomatoes
Amber Jewel Tomatoes, Black Tomatoes, Canned Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Delizia Tomatoes, Golden Cherub Tomatoes, Golden Delight Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, Marmande Tomatoes, Melrow Tomatoes, Pink Jester Tomatoes, Plum Tomatoes, Pome dei Moro Tomatoes, Principe Borghese Tomatoes, Santa Grape Tomatoes, Semi-Dried Tomatoes, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Tomato Paste, Tomato Purée, Vittoria Tomatoes

Other entries for:

Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Garlic, Gourds, Horseradish Tree, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Root Vegetables, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Viscous Vegetables