Difficulty level: Medium
For many recipes, tomatoes can be cooked with their skins and seeds, but there are some, especially certain tomato sauce recipes, which turn out better if the tomatoes have been peeled and seeded – this results in a smoother, more easily digestible sauce. Try these easy steps for peeling and seeding tomatoes.
Peeling Tomatoes
- Boil a pot of water (enough to completely submerge the tomatoes).
- Cut out the tomato cores.
- Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water.
- Boil for 15-30 seconds, just until the skin around the core starts loosening, or until the tomato splits.
- Drop the tomatoes into a bowl of cold water.
- Peel the tomatoes.
Seeding Tomatoes
- Cut the tomato in half.
- Over a strainer set in a bowl, squeeze half of the tomato in one hand and pull the seeds out with the other.
- Discard the seeds, but retain the juice.
- Use tomato flesh and juice in your favorite recipe.