We all know nothing beats fresh tomatoes from the garden, grown in summer sunshine and picked straight off the vine. Sometimes, however, such as in the dead of winter (I see you, negative wind chills across America!), canned tomatoes are the next best thing. So, inspired by a recent canned-tomato comparison at The Kitchn, I took one basic tomato sauce recipe and made it with four different brands of cans. Here’s a look at how the different options stacked up!

Listen, it’s hard to beat the convenience of canned tomatoes. They’re available year-round. They can sit in your pantry indefinitely. Even better, they’re cost-effective, priced anywhere from $1.50 on the economical end to $4+ on the high side. But, wait: $1.50 to $4? That’s no small price disparity, at least when what we’re talking about is the same basic ingredient, tomatoes, saved and canned and sold. So what’s the deal? Do some brands of tomatoes truly warrant price tags double the rest? Will buying the pricier option make a difference in cooking, especially when you’re making, say, homemade tomato sauce?