Peeling Tomatoes Made Easy

Filed in archive Tricks & Techniques on May 18, 2006

Many recipes call for peeled tomatoes. Red sauce pasta, chicken stew - I like them peeled for salsa. Same goes for our home-made tomato sauce recipe. Removing the skin and de-seeding the tomato makes it less acidic and in warm weather like the sweltering summer, it prevents food from spoiling easily.

The problem with peeling tomatoes is that it takes too long. More often than not, too much of the flesh goes with the skin. What a waste! The skin also adheres to the flesh too tightly that bits of it remain leaving unpeeled patches.

Fortunately, there's a time-tested trick employed by experienced cooks that will make this task easier. All that is needed is a pot of water.

Boil enough water to cover all tomatoes. Turn off heat as it reaches a rolling boil. Plunge the tomatoes into the water but not for more than 60 seconds. That way, the skin is loosened but the flesh is uncooked.

As soon as it's cool to the touch, insert a knife tip on the top where the stem was then pull on the skin. It should come off easily, like a jacket being shed.

This technique only works on ripe tomatoes. If unripe tomatoes need to be peeled, they'll have to be submerged in hot water longer which would slightly cook the flesh.