How To Get The Skin Off Fresh Tomatoes

Four rip red tomatoes growing on the vine.

Yesterday I posted a recipe for matbucha, a Moroccan cooked tomato salad. When making this salad with fresh tomatoes (rather than canned), you lot want to utilize peeled tomatoes. Afterward I posted the recipe, I of a sudden idea I should post a little tutorial on how to pare tomatoes. You can't exactly utilise a potato peeler, especially if they're very ripe or soft. There are three piece of cake ways to peel a lycopersicon esculentum (that I know well-nigh), and so I thought I'd write upwards a quick "how to" mail service. I've written the instructions and posted footstep-by-step photos below. With tomato season starting soon, it's a helpful matter to know how to do.

And then, why peel a tomato? Tomato skins, when cooked slowly in liquid or sauce, tend to separate from the soft lycopersicon esculentum mankind. This tin can create a stringy, unappealing texture in an otherwise lovely sauce. Here are iii simple ways you can peel a tomato plant. All of them are easy-peasy and take less than a infinitesimal per tomato.

In a few days, I'll do a post well-nigh seeding tomatoes and another about roasting them– both are useful techniques to have nether your belt. Tin yous tell I've got tomatoes on the brain? I'thousand really looking forward to the warm weather coming back. I tin almost smell those fresh, ripe, sweetness tomatoes at the farmer'due south market place…

Tomato spread by fork held over gas flame on stovetop.

How to Peel Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Gas Flame Method

Gas stovetop
Fork

Humid Water Method

Pot of water
Large basin of ice water
Sharp knife
Slotted Spoon

Pocketknife Method

Sharp knife
Cutting board

Gas Flame Method

Using a gas flame is the easiest way to skin tomatoes, in my stance. It also produces the best results. You volition demand a gas stovetop and a fork.
Remove any stems that are still attached to your tomatoes. Rinse the tomatoes clean and pat dry. Spear the tomato with a fork at the meridian, where the stem cadre is visible.
Turn the stovetop flame to medium-high. Hold the lycopersicon esculentum an inch over the flame, turning slowly, until the skin begins to split and blister. It should have about 15-25 seconds for the peel to loosen all the way effectually the love apple. Don't agree it over the flame too long or it will start to cook the tomato.
Place the tomato on a smooth surface and let it absurd off enough for you to comfortably touch information technology. Brainstorm peeling the peel where it split, making your manner all around the tomato till all the skin is peeled off.
Discard the skin and go along with your recipe.

Boiling Water Method

The boiling water method is useful for when y'all have a large batch of tomatoes to peel. You can process iii-4 tomatoes at a time using this method.
Place a pot of water on the stove and let it come to a rolling eddy. Place your basin of ice water next to the stove and then it is easily attainable. Rinse your tomatoes clean and remove any stems that are notwithstanding fastened.
Using a sharp pocketknife, piece a shallow X into the bottom of the tomato (opposite the stem side).
Gently place the tomatoes into the boiling water. If yous have several tomatoes, eddy them in batches of 3-4 at a time.
Eddy the tomatoes until you see the X begin to carve up open wider, or for 25 seconds, whichever comes first. Practice non eddy them for longer than 25-30 seconds or they will begin to soften and melt.
Remove the tomatoes immediately from the boiling water using a slotted spoon.
Place the tomatoes direct into the bowl of ice water and let them cool off. This volition assistance to terminate any "cooking" that has started.
Remove the tomatoes from the water ice water. Begin peeling the peel at the Ten, pulling the skin back gently.
Not much tomato flesh should come up off with the skin-- if the flesh comes off or the tomato seems soft/mushy, you've cooked it a chip too long. Try cooking it for a shorter time on the next round.
Discard the skin and proceed with your recipe.

Pocketknife Method

This is my least favorite method for peeling tomatoes because y'all tin can end up discarding some tomato flesh no affair how good you lot are with a pocketknife. Still, information technology'due south the merely method that doesn't involve heating the tomatoes. I'm including it then yous have all the options. Rinse your tomatoes and pat them dry. Piece the tomatoes into large wedges.
Work with one tomato wedge at a time. Identify a wedge on a cutting board, seed side facing up, skin side facing down. Printing the tomato wedge firmly to the board to keep information technology stable. Using a abrupt pocketknife, starting at 1 tip of the wedge, slice the skin away from the tomato plant flesh. Keep the knife as close to the skin equally possible, and then you're slicing off the peel merely and not slicing off the flesh of the tomato.
Work your way from ane tip of the tomato plant wedge to the other, until all the skin is removed from the wedge.
Discard the skin and proceed with your recipe.

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Nutritional information should exist considered an guess only; please consult a registered dietician, nutritionist, or your physician for specific wellness-related questions. Read more here. Please notation that the recipe above is published using a recipe bill of fare plugin, with preexisting software which tin car-calculate metric measurements, every bit well as alter the number of servings. Metric conversions and changes to the number of servings (resulting in unlike ingredient amounts) will only announced in the ingredient listing, and are non inverse within the footstep-by-footstep directions of the recipe.

Nutritional information should exist considered an approximate only; please consult a registered dietician, nutritionist, or your doctor for specific wellness-related questions. Read more hither. Delight notation that the recipe above is published using a recipe card plugin, with preexisting software which can auto-calculate metric measurements, besides as change the number of servings. Metric conversions and changes to the number of servings (resulting in different ingredient amounts) will but appear in the ingredient listing, and are not changed within the stride-by-step directions of the recipe.