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How to Choose, Store and Cook Tomatoes

Tomato Hints and Tips

By , About.com Guide

Tomatoes Photo © Getty Images
  1. To tell if a tomato is fresh, the smell should be faintly aromatic and the calyx - the stalk leaves - should look fresh and green. Most of the tomato scent comes from the leaves and stem, rather than the fruit itself. This is why vine tomatoes have a stronger aroma.
  2. Always store tomatoes at room temperature, never in the fridge. Storing tomatoes in the fridge deadens the flavour. If you absolutely must put them in the fridge then remove and allow them to come to room temperature before using. Place an over-ripe tomato in the fridge and they will go soft more quickly.
  3. Under-ripe or over-ripe tomatoes? To ripen under ripe tomatoes, place in a paper bag with one ripe tomato and keep at room temperature, and watch the magic. Under ripe still not going red then use for making chutney, conversely, overripe for sauces and soups. (ps tomato juice is an excellent hangover cure).
  4. Use plum tomatoes on the barbecue. Their firm flesh keeps them on the skewer, rather than slipping off between the bars.
  5. Mint, parsley, basil and oregano are perfect herb partners for tomatoes
  6. To skin or not to skin? For salads or grilling, no. If the dish is sieved or strained then there is also no need to skin. Chunky pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes, yes.
  7. To skin tomatoes (easiest with ripe tomatoes), cut a tiny cross in the base of the tomato with a sharp knife, plunge into boiling water for 10 seconds, then iced water for a further 10. The skin will simply fall away.
  8. A teaspoon of sugar in cooked tomatoes (sauces, purees etc) will bring out the sweetness.
  9. Bathe your winter kitchen in sunshine by preserving tomatoes in sauces, soups and purees when they are at their best in the summer.
  10. If your tomatoes are lacking in flavour then try oven-drying to intensify the flavour (or in the sun if you live in the right climate).

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