This is the easiest way to peel tomatoes: blanching them in boiling water to immediately shocking them in iced water, and then peel them as if they were bananas!
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With a 190 pound crop of tomatoes from my kitchen garden, so far, this is what I have been doing in the last few days: peeling, eating, cooking, and preserving tomatoes.
Why Would I Peel Tomatoes?
Technically, you can survive without peeling tomatoes. However, when a recipe calls for peeled tomatoes, every second you invest in doing the chore, it is worth it. For example, If you don’t peel your tomatoes while making tomato sauce, the skin will be separated from the flesh and you won’t have a silky, smooth final product. In addition, the flavonoids present in the tomato skin can be bitter.
In addition, Italians, who are the kings of canning and processing tomatoes, peel them and so do I. I find that pasta sauces, soups, gazpachos, and tomato bruschettas have better textures when I prepare them with peeled tomatoes. With that said, I must add that, since I have my Vitamix, I make my tomato soup and my gazpachos without peeling the tomatoes. Because the blender is so powerful, the texture of both, soups and gazpachos is smooth and silky.
How to Blanch Tomatoes
The first step to blanch tomatoes is to put some water to a boil. Then have a big bowl filled with iced water. In the meantime, rinse the tomatoes and core them (take the peduncle away) with a paring knife. With the same knife, make a very shallow cross slit around the tomato skin.
The next step is blanching the tomatoes by immersing two to three at a time, in the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds.
How to Shock Blanched Tomatoes
Once the tomatoes are blanched, immediately plunge them in iced water to stop the cooking and cool them off. The next step is either to strain the tomatoes in a pasta colander or peel them off without straining them. After years of doing this, I prefer to peel them immediately, so there is no flesh to waste.
How to Peel Tomatoes
To peel the already blanched and cooled-off tomatoes, grasp the skin with your fingers, one quarter at a time.
The peeling “process” is as simple as grasping the skin of each tomato, and peel it as if it is a banana. Easy!
Once peeled, the tomatoes are ready to be canned or processed as you want.
The following is a printable version of the above-mentioned peeling method. I hope you like it as much as I do. Thanks for subscribing to my YouTube channel and visiting my Amazon store.
How to Peel Tomatoes
- paring knife
- wooden cutting board
- glass bowl
- pot
Instructions
- Put some water to a boil.
- Have a big bowl filled with iced water. I
- Rinse the tomatoes and core them (take the peduncle away) with a paring knife.
- With the same knife, make a very shallow cross slit around the tomato skin.
- Blanch the tomatoes by immersing two to three at a time, in the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds.
- Immediately plunge them in iced water to stop the cooking and cool them off.
- Either to strain the tomatoes in a pasta colander, or peel them off without straining them.
- To peel the already blanched and cooled-off tomatoes, grasp the skin with your fingers, one quarter at a time.
- Once peeled, the tomatoes are ready to be canned or processed as you want.
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