Tomato question

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bigdaddy3k

Mr. Greenjeans
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Last year I had a bumper crop of Romas. I had no time so I froze the lot. I know a brief dip in boiling water will allow me to remove the skins but if I allow them to thaw completely they collapse and they are near impossible to seed.

Do the seeds really have that much of an effect on the flavor of sauce? Can I just skin, chunk and process into sauce?
 
While it's certainly a personal preference, I never bother seeding tomatoes for anything (except fresh ones that I'm stuffing). I don't bother seeding the commercial whole canned tomatoes I buy either. In fact, I rather like the seeds in the sauce, & paste tomatoes like Romas don't have as many seeds as the big slicers do anyway.

Also - there's no need to dip frozen tomatoes in boiling water to remove the skins. Just run them under warm tap water while still frozen & the skins will slip off easily in your fingers. I find this one of the benefits of freezing tomatoes whole as is. And frankly, if I'm making a fresh, rustic type of pasta sauce, I frequently don't bother skinning them either. But again - personal preference.
 
I never bother seeding tomatoes for anything (except fresh ones that I'm stuffing).
I am the same way, but for me I would add one other time I seed them and that is when the added moisture the would be detrimental to the dish. Other than that I leave em in.
 
see, i would seed them. i find seeds to be unpleastant. i'd halve & squeeze them, then pick the remainder from them after boiling them.
 
Posted by Luvs:
"see, i would seed them. i find seeds to be unpleastant. i'd halve & squeeze them, then pick the remainder from them after boiling them."

Luvs - I'm sorry but I think you're a little bit confused here.

First off, per the very link you provided for "Tomato Concasse" (which I'm aware of & do prepare once in awhile) the tomatoes are WHOLE when they're scored & DIPPED in boiling water for peeling. They're NOT halved & seeded before the dipping, which is what you said & what I was questioning. If you were to halve & seed the tomatoes before dipping them, the flesh would partially cook & absorb SO much liquid, the tomatoes would literally disintegrate. And the tomatoes are really just "dipped" in the boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute depending on the size & type of the tomato - not actually "boiled".

Also - the original poster was talking about tomatoes - FROZEN tomatoes that is, for sauce, & a concasse of tomato really isn't used for sauce, unless the sauce is really no more than a gourmet garnish or a fresh rustic-type sauce for an appetizer portion of pasta.
 
why ,for 1, need you argue, & 2, try to teach me what i learned in culinary school? i miswrote a post. get over it.
 
Whoa Nelly - no need to go off half-cocked/insulted/huffy. And I have nothing to "get over".

I posted what I did because someone who's new to cooking with tomatoes might very likely take you at your word & think that halving, squeezing, & then boiling tomatoes was the correct way to do it. Which it's not. How would they know otherwise? You didn't come back & post a correction.

And the part of my post regarding the OP's question re: frozen tomatoes, as well as concasse not being a pasta sauce regular stands true, in my opinion.

In addition, what does "culinary school" have to do with anything? I think my post was polite & factual; yours?
 
When I seed tomatoes it is for one of two reasons. One is that I don't have a lot of room in my freezer. Seeding tomatoes decreases the amount of leftover "water" that is useless in sauces. The other was that my mom has diverticulitis and intestinal cancer, and those seeds just were impossible. That said, if I had a big freezer (as I have in the past), I'd freeze the tomatoes whole. Personally, when my tomato crop comes in (I'm just getting some starting to turn), I want it all, tomato, seeds, all of it. Even if I'm tossing them on pasta (angel hair and fresh tomatoes and basil and olive oil is one of my most favorite dishes) I use the whole tomato. And tomato sandwiches, in their various forms. Love them all.
 
I have a garden and found that it was alot easier to flavor and roast my Roma tomatoes used for sauces before freezing (to let the flavors marry). I chop the herbs etc. that I want to use to flavor a batch, grease a cookie sheet with olive oil, evenly spread herbs etc over surface, then cut romas in half and place cut side down on cookie sheet, score backs with a small cross. Roast in 225-deg oven for approx. 20 mins. Remove from oven. Skins will slide off. Freeze as is or chop together then freeze in smaller portions. Have fun and make a variety of flavored tomatoes for future sauces.
 
I have never frozen tomatoes with the skins on, but if I had I think that I would just make the sauce skins, seeds, and all. You can always run the tomatoes through a food processor and go from there and then the seeds and skin will get blended in.
 
Last year I had a bumper crop of Romas. I had no time so I froze the lot. I know a brief dip in boiling water will allow me to remove the skins but if I allow them to thaw completely they collapse and they are near impossible to seed.

Do the seeds really have that much of an effect on the flavor of sauce? Can I just skin, chunk and process into sauce?
my mom never removed the tomato seeds!!
 
you can "de-seed" by halving/quartering the tomatoes, and taking them for a ride in a salad spinner.....if that removes too much liquid, you can just strain out the seeds and add back as much liquid as you want....
 
you can "de-seed" by halving/quartering the tomatoes, and taking them for a ride in a salad spinner.....if that removes too much liquid, you can just strain out the seeds and add back as much liquid as you want....
thats better than a ricer/ food mill!! i tried the food mill once with whole canned plumb toms and the seeds go mashed and turned the results a nasty sickening orange color!! i threw it away and went back to moms squish toms with my hand and leave seeds in method!!
 
I, too, roast tomatoes before freezing. Halve or quarter (depending on the size), seed. Put on a baking sheet along with a few peppers (I grow super cayennes variety), slices of onion, some garlic cloves. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper. Low and slow (say 300 for an hour or so, until the veggies sort of dry out. I put them through a food mill, then add some basil & oregano from the garden and freeze.
 
So many ideas and opinions! I personally don't mind the skin or seeds but my mother-in-law has diverticulitis so I try to keep everything I can skin and seed free.

Last year was our first "big" garden year. Before that I would only have one tomato plant for special treats. I like slicing a roma and then placing it under the broiler for a minute or two. then I put it all in a saver bowl and chill it down. Put those on an Italian cold cut sandwich and you are talking about a sandwich made with love.
 
I would seed the tomatoes for two reasons: 1.) they effect the texture. A tomato seed is essentially a chunk of wood, and 2.) many people, myself included, wear dentures and tomato seeds can get under a denture plate and become uncomfortable, so be aware of your target audience before deciding.
 
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