TOMATOES

Preparing Tomatoes

There are people who never peeled or seeded tomato, others do it all the time. You may peel tomato for the baby, you may peel and seed tomatoes when making a sauce or a paste. Some people claim that seeds impart bitter flavor, others argue that this is not true so the subject is up for discussion. Most of us will probably agree that the skin is not the best part of the tomato, however, for most applications such as adding tomatoes to a salad, the skin and the seeds are left intact.

How to Peel Tomatoes

Make a cross cut on the bottom of tomato. This will facilitate the peeling.

Bring water to a low boil, insert tomatoes for about 20 seconds. Do not do more than 4 tomatoes at the time. Using draining spoon helps a lot.

The slit will widen indicating that tomato is ready for peeling.

Place tomato in icy cold water to prevent cooking.

The skin will come off easily.

How to Seed Tomatoes

Blossom end can be removed before cutting or later.

Make equatorial cut across large tomato.

Seeds and surrounding gel are locked in individual compartments.

Place fine strainer over bowl. Squeeze tomatoes. The seeds with gel will break loose.

Any remaining seeds can be removed with a teaspoon. You could remove seeds from all pockets with a spoon, but squeezing the seeds out is faster

What remains is the skinless solid tomato pulp which can be easily sliced or diced.

What to do with the seeds

Tomato seeds and gel.

Gel can be pushed with a spoon through the strainer.

What remains is a liquid consisting of gel, water and some tomato juice. The seeds are discarded.

Preserving Tomatoes

Tomatoes can be preserved by drying, freezing or canning. Most use a acidity factor to distinguish fruits from vegetables. The critical point has been established as pH 4.6 – anything below is classified as high acid food, for example fruits (apple, orange) and all products with pH higher than 4.6 are defined as low acid foods, for example vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. High acid foods are canned at higher temperatures than low acid foods in order to kill Clostridium botulinum bacterial spores.

Tomato sits on the border line; some tomatoes contain enough acidity to be classified as fruits, others contain less acidity (pH above 4.6) and are considered vegetable. For safety reasons, most define a tomato as vegetable and commercial processing of tomatoes is subjected to stringent rules than fruits or jam products.

The tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) originated in Mexico and was brought to Europe by Spaniards, possibly by Christopher Columbus himself. From then, the tomato spread in Mediterranean countries, where it found favorable conditions to grow. Tomatoes are one of the most common garden fruits in the United States and have a reputation for outproducing the needs of the grower.

Tomatoes keep best unwashed at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. Keeping them in refrigerator can harm the flavor. Tomatoes that are not yet ripe will continue ripening if kept in a paper bag.

Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce is a crucial ingredient for pasta dishes and that is why is also known as pasta sauce. Tomato sauces vary in taste and texture and are served with meats and vegetables. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, but what makes them ideal for sauces is their soft rich in fluid flesh. Almost all tomato sauces begin with these steps:

Sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil.

Adding a little salt and chopped tomatoes and simmering all together.

Commonly added seasonings are:

Seasonings - basil, oregano and parsley.

Spices - red pepper, black pepper.

Adding ground meat makes a very heavy tomato sauce. Stock or wine are added if sauce becomes too thick.

There are many versions of tomato sauce:

USA

Simple cooked tomato sauce with salt, olive oil and garlic. Served usually with pasta and meat.

Tomato paste – standardized by Food and Drug Administration for percentage of tomato solids.

Tomato puree - standardized by Food and Drug Administration for percentage of tomato solids.

In Louisiana Cajun cuisine, tomato sauce will be much hotter and served over white rice. And most of all, the traditional holy trinity of diced bell pepper, onions and celery will definitely be added.

ITALY

Italy may be best known for her pastas and tomato sauces, but they learned tomato skills from Spaniards in 15 – 16th century. Huge variety of tomato sauces, ranging from the very basic tomato sauce made from tomatoes, basil and olive oil to hotter sauces like puttanesca or arrabbiata sauces.

MEXICO

This is the country where tomato originated. There are many sauces such as red tomato sauce, green tomato sauce (from green tomatoes), spicy sauces and a huge selection of sophisticated tomato sauces known as moles that come in many colours and flavors.

Basic Tomato Sauce

2 kg (4.4 lb) tomatoes, any variety

1/3 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 medium onion

1 tsp salt

Fresh basil, to garnish

1. Peel tomatoes and filter out the seeds.

2. Dice onion. Peel garlic and slice thinly.

3. Heat olive oil on medium in a large pot. Cook onions and garlic until golden for about 8 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes and squash them with a potato masher. Mix all together and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

5. Add basil to tomato sauce before serving.

NOTE if your sauce is too lumpy, mix it in blender. You may add some red wine. Grated parmesan cheese may be added when serving