When I think of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut, I hunger for the white clam pizza — no tomatoes — from the coal-fired oven. So why care about the pizzeria’s canned Italian tomatoes, newly on the market?

For one thing, the chain’s tomato pizzas are also noteworthy. And second, the peeled tomatoes in tomato purée are really good and need but a bit of vigorous crushing and seasoning to render them suitable for homemade pizza or pasta.

— Frank Pepe Genuine Italian Tomatoes, $3.50 for a 28-ounce can at the pizzerias in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, $10 for three cans, plus $16.85 shipping, pepespizzeria.com.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Florence Fabricant © 2018 The New York Times