If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s how to peel a tomato quickly. After all, when you grow boatloads of food in your backyard every summer, you tend to pick up a few tricks along the way.
How to Peel a Tomato.
Step 1 – Wash your tomatoes. If you bought your tomatoes at the store {Gasp!} then be sure and remove any pesky little stickers as well.
Step 2 – Bring a large pot of water to a boil
Step 3 – While you are waiting for the water to boil, score the bottom of your tomato {I cut the skin with a little x on the bottom of each tomato}
Step 4 – Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set it aside {I always put mine in the sink}
Step 5 – Once the water is boiling, with a slotted spoon, carefully place about 3 or 4 tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds {or until the peel splits.
Step 6 – Once the peel on the tomato has split, using the slotted spoon carefully remove the tomato and place it in the bowl of ice water.
Step 7 – Let the tomatoes sit in the ice water for a few minutes to cool down, then core and peel the tomatoes.
That’s it. Wasn’t that easy? Now you know how to peel a tomato. 🙂
~Mavis
icebear says
If you plan to can them, you can also freeze them. if your harvest comes in slow, just freeze until you have enough for a canning session. thaw them, skin them and do what you like.
jess h says
Is thsi the same process to peel peaches? I was looking at your peach jam recipe and it looks like the same concept to peel them?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes! 🙂 Super easy once you get the hang of it.
Cassie says
Is there anybody who does not bother to seed the tomatoes? I’ve seeded mine in the past, but I find it extremely time consuming and I tend to lose a lot of the inner pulp. Wondering if it’s bad to eat the seeds..
Lisa says
I just canned a few jars of tomatoes, peeling them by this “recipe” and canning them by the Ball book. The book didn’t mention de-seeding them. I never thought to do it! I just canned them in their own juices, raw. Did someone mention it was bad to eat the seeds if they were canned or cooked? Whenever I make a crockpot recipe in the summer I throw in a few tomatoes, whole.
If I had to de-seed tomatoes I wouldn’t bother canning or cooking with them!
Donna Hudson says
I can three hundred pounds of tomatoes a year..I do not seed them…the seeds will not hurt you…do you take the seeds out of cherry tomatoes…….Sometimes if I am making certain recipes I will take out some of the seeds….just because I don’t want them….not because they are bad for you.