Easy Peeling Tomatoes
Matt taught me a trick that he learned from his mama about how to easily peel tomatoes for processing into sauce. We are about to enter the time of massive tomatoes harvest (or at least I hope they are massive and it is looking promising). We tend to harvest a bunch and just freeze most of them to use for sauce making after a significant amount has accumulated. They can be de-skinned prior to freezing which makes the sauce process all the more easy when we get around to it.
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Add tomatoes.
Boil about one minute. You are not cooking it, just loosening the skin.
Pull out tomatoes using a slotted spoon (or drain pot) and place tomatoes into a bowl of ice cold water for several minutes.
Make a small slice in the skin and pull. It should pull right off.
I love simple, low-tech solutions that make life easier. Without the skins the food press doesn't get clogged up with skins, in fact, we didn't even run the last batch of sauce through the press. We didn't need to. It was already smooth and beautiful as it was. Awesome-o.
Add tomatoes.
Boil about one minute. You are not cooking it, just loosening the skin.
Pull out tomatoes using a slotted spoon (or drain pot) and place tomatoes into a bowl of ice cold water for several minutes.
Make a small slice in the skin and pull. It should pull right off.
I love simple, low-tech solutions that make life easier. Without the skins the food press doesn't get clogged up with skins, in fact, we didn't even run the last batch of sauce through the press. We didn't need to. It was already smooth and beautiful as it was. Awesome-o.
When you get chickens, they will love those skins and the stem part you have to cut out. Did you grow those tomatoes?
ReplyDeleteNo. They are grown locally at a ranch by people with disabilities. They were given to us for free at the health food store because they were borderline overripe. Made great sauce. I'll remember that about the chickens.
DeleteI love peeling tomatoes and I just procesesed and canned up 7 quarts last night. Another bonus is that the acidity from the tommytoes leaves our stainless steel sink looking really, really clean!!!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that little perk! Its a two-for-one: yummy canned tomatoes and a sparkling sink!
DeleteAnd, I second Practical Parsimony, our chickens are the recipients of many bits and pieces from the garden. Things our chickens love best, tips and tops from green beans, wormy corn on the cobs, strawberry hulls, and left over pancakes (okay they are not from the garden) and we also toss them a lot of weeds, lettuce that has bolted, and anything we think they will enjoy. We don't give them potato peel as it can be slightly toxic. The girls are shameless beggars and as soon as anyone walks out of the house they run up to their fence in anticipation of treats and look disappointed if manna doesn't drop over the fence!
ReplyDeleteHope your council votes yes to chickens, they are funny, fun little birdies and we enjoy them so.
Bean
Thanks, Bean. I really, REALLY look forward to keeping chickens...hopefully soon! Its seems like a great arrangement for both birds and humans. Its such a symbiotic relationship you describe. You give, they give (eggs, fertilizer, pest control, compost eating). Great.
Delete