Cento's Test Kitchen

The Cento test kitchen was created not only for quality assurance, but to test the performance of our items in various recipes and find their best uses and flavor combinations. When a new Cento item is introduced to our product line, Chef Cento uses the flavor profile of the item in a number of recipes to find the best uses and pairings. Chef Cento first finds inspiration for new ways to use our items, then through research and development crafts a recipe. This recipe is then tested time and time again, often with a series of chefs, to ensure maximum flavor. Our recipe collection on our website features more than 250 authentic Italian dishes specially crafted by Chef Cento or guests of the Cento test kitchen. Because these recipes were developed using only our products in testing and execution, results may vary if any non-Cento items are substituted. For the best results, always use Cento.

Authentic Recipes

When you purchase a Cento product you know that because of our strict proprietary specifications, you’ll receive a consistent, premium quality item each time. In the same way we follow strict guidelines and settle for nothing but the best with our products, the recipes featured on our website are created only after stringent testing for performance and maximum flavor using Cento products. Chef Cento crafts these recipes using the highest quality ingredients for the home chef, making difficult recipes easy to follow so that you may step out of your cooking comfort zone and enjoy the authentic Italian flavors of each dish.

Quality Assurance

Each item that comes through our facility first makes a stop to the Cento test kitchen and our quality assurance lab. Random pieces are taken from each “lot” of a specific product that comes into our facility. The lot code is a number assigned to each particular batch of an item, which can be based off the quantity, production date, or the crop’s harvest. We test every single lot that comes through our facility to ensure that our products are always premium quality and consistent in texture, performance, appearance and taste.

Cento San Marzano Marinara Sauce

Our Cento San Marzano Marinara Sauce, arguably our most popular recipe, was specifically crafted to highlight the sweeter, less acidic taste of our Cento Certified San Marzano Tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are often regarded as the gold standard for taste in tomatoes by top chefs, Italian cooks and foodies alike. With the addition of few aromatics and flavors, our San Marzano Marinara Sauce lets the fresh flavors of the tomatoes shine to their full potential as the star of the dish. Chef Cento formulated this sauce as a simple marinara for any level of cook to enjoy with their favorite cut of Anna Pasta.

Pasta Con Vongole

Chef Cento’s Pasta Con Vongole recipe yields a savory white sauce made with garlic, oil, tender clams and just the right amount of spice. An extremely popular southern Italian dish, Chef Cento created this recipe to make the flavors of old-world Italy and Italian restaurants accessible to the home chef. This simple sauce uses all-natural Cento Minced Clams, Cento Whole Baby Clams and Cento Clam Juice to add a distinct seafood and delicate clam flavor. In adding only a few spices, Chef Cento let the seafood flavor shine through in this sauce to recreate the taste of the iconic dish with pasta and fresh clams.

Pizza Dough Ball

Our Pizza Dough Ball Recipe was created using Anna TIPO ‘00’ Flour and can be used for not only pizza, but focaccia, stromboli, focaccia, garlic knots, flatbreads, turnovers and much more. After researching the topic, Chef Cento learned that the inexperienced chef can often be intimidated by homemade pizza and he wanted to create a simple recipe so that anyone, regardless of skill level, could craft their own pizza at home. Anna TIPO ‘00’ Flour is tailored to high-temperature pizza ovens to deliver an authentic Italian Naples-style pizza; it’s also smooth and easy to work with to yield consistent results. With less impurities for more even cooking, the light, crispy crust is delicious with your favorite toppings added. Through testing repetitively, Chef Cento found the perfect ratio of flour to water, salt and sugar to create the perfect pizza dough every time.