The tomatoes have a typically sweet and sour taste and a lively red color; the peel, at full maturity, is easily removeable. These properties, along with the tomatoes? chemical and physical characteristics, render San Marzano tomatoes instantly recognizable, whether fresh or in modified form. San Marzano tomatoes are extremely delicate and are handled with extreme care: as soon as they are picked from the vines, they are rinsed and placed into cans, without any additives or conservatives.