Tomato Tips
Purchasing Tomatoes
Tomatoes don't develop adequate flavor unless allowed to ripen on the vine. Seek out locally grown tomatoes whenever possible. They may not be as "pretty" as store bought, but beauty, of course, is only skin deep. Note: Fragrance is a better indicator of a good tomato than color. Use your nose and smell the stem end. The stem should retain the garden aroma of the plant itself - if it doesn't, your tomato will lack flavor and, as far as I'm concerned, will be good only for decoration! Since fresh tomatoes are summer fare and off-season tomatoes are rarely flavorful, substitute canned Italian plum tomatoes in cooked dishes. Cook for ten minutes to reduce the liquid and enhance the taste.
Storing & Ripening Tomatoes
NEVER REFRIGERATE FRESH TOMATOES! Cold temperatures make the flesh of a tomato pulpy and destroys the flavor. To ripen, place green or unripened tomatoes in a brown paper bag and place in a dark spot for three or four days, depending on the degree of greenness. Do not put tomatoes in the sun to ripen - this softens them.
Preserving Tomatoes
The simplest way to preserve tomatoes is to freeze them whole. Just rinse them, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and freeze overnight. When frozen, put them in a freezer bag and return to the freezer. To use, remove from bag and thaw. When thawed, slip the skins off, and use in your favorite recipes
OR
Peel the tomatoes, puree them in a blender, and then strain them through cheesecloth or a coffee filer to drain off the excess tomato water (this can be used in soups). Freeze the pulp in ice cube trays. When frozen, store the frozen cubes in a freezer bag.
Tomato Tips:
Add a pinch of sugar to tomatoes when cooking them. It enhances the flavor. To keep baked or stuffed tomatoes from collapsing, bake in greased muffin tins. The tins will give them some support as they cook. Tomato "water" - the clearish liquid that dribbles out of a sliced tomato, can be used as a low-acidity stand-in for lemon juice. This can be used in marinating raw fish.
How To Peel Fresh Tomatoes:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. With a paring knife, cut an "X" through the skin on bottom of each tomato. Drop tomatoes, a few at a time, into water for 10 to 15 seconds. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a bowl or sink filled with ice water to cool them down. The skin will easily slip off each tomato.
TOMATO EQUIVALENTS
- 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes equals 3 cups chopped and drained fresh tomatoes.
- (16-oz) can equals 2 cups drained tomatoes or 1 cup undrained tomatoes.
- (28-oz) can equals 3 cups undrained or 2 to 2 1/2 cups drained tomatoes.
- (35-oz) can equals 3 cups undrained or 2 to 2 1/2 cups drained tomatoes.
- 5 to 30 cherry tomatoes equals 2 cups chopped tomatoes.
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste equals 3/4 cup.
- An average bushel of tomatoes weighs about 53 lb (25 kg). When quartered and canned, this quantity of tomatoes will yield 15 to 20 – 1 L jars. You’ll need 2 ˝ to 3 lb (1.2 to 1.4 kg) fresh tomatoes per 1 L mason jar.
| SIZE | WEIGHT | CHOPPED |
| Cherry tomato | about 1 oz | about 1 tbl |
| Plum tomato | 2 - 3 oz | about 1/3 cup |
| Small tomato | 3 - 5 oz | about 2/3 cup |
| Medium tomato | 6 - 8 oz | about 3/4 cup |
| Large tomato | 9 - 12 oz. | about 1-1/4 cups |
| Extra large tomato | 13 - 16 oz | about 2 cups |
| 1 can tomatoes, drained |
15 oz | about 1-1/2 cups |
| 1 can tomatoes, drained |
28 oz | about 3 cups |