Tomatoes are such a lovely fruit. I enjoy them so many ways… but I am insanely picky about them.
I don’t like to eat the ooky seed/slime part, so I always de-seed my tomatoes before slicing them or cooking them. I am also kind of weird about the skin. It’s fine if I’m eating slices of tomatoes on sandwiches or plain with salt, but if the tomatoes are cooked, I can’t stand eating the skin. It’s just a weird texture by itself, I guess.
So I had to figure out how to easily peel tomatoes for when I make my beloved tomato pie. I figured it would be easier to do all at once before cooking it than to pick out the peel pieces before/during each bite I take. haha!
First, you’ll need tomatoes, of course…
And a bowl of ice water…
And a pot of boiling water.
It’s really very simple! All you have to do is put the tomatoes into the pot of water , leave them there for one minute, then fish them out with a slotted spoon.
Submerge the tomato in ice water until it’s completely cool.
Now, barely pierce the skin with a paring knife, making a small slit.
And start peeling. You’ll find that the skin comes away from the tomato quite easily.
And you’ll be able to peel off large pieces…
Until the entire lovely tomato is free!
It’s so quick, it only takes a little while to do a whole bunch of tomatoes. You can put them all in the boiling water, then ice water at the same time. After that, it’s just a simple slit and peel for each!
After this, I de-seeded them and made the best tomato pie I’ve ever made! More on that later. *sneaky grin*
Make sure you have adorable kitchen towels around to wipe up the water that you’ve undoubtedly dripped on your countertop. It doesn’t get much cuter than my embroidered tea towels, if I may be so un-humble.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
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Heather, I didn’t think about doing that on purpose! One of my tomatoes did have a slit in the skin and mostly peeled itself. Good point!
Emma, I have heard that about potatoes (and I think there’s a youtube video too). Looks fun, but I usually like to keep the skin on… I love potato skin in my creamy stirred (not mashed) potatoes!
Debbie, you’re so welcome! Please keep an eye out for tomorrow’s post too… same tomato pie, but way better pictures. Mmmm.
Thanks for the link to your tomato pie. It looks absolutely yummy! I love anything with tomatoes or cheese and to combine the two is even better. Now I know what to do this when we end up with more tomatoes than we know what to do with later this summer.
This works with potatoes too! Cut a slit all around each potato, boil them and cool in ice water/ Then you can squeeze each half and the skins just pop off! Which is not only fun, but doesn’t waste potato by peeling, isn’t messy and boring and time consuming.
You can also slit the bottom of the tomato skin before placing in boiling water and they will begin to peel themselves. This works well with peaches, plums, etc. as well. Great tutorial.
Liz, I’m glad my little tutorial can help you out! Maybe if you want to get really domestic, you can do this and can your own tomatoes for the winter!
I love the “ooky” seed and slime part – it is the peels that I am not fond of (when cooked). Thanks for the lesson – I can use this method when I’m making my spaghetti sauce – no need to buy crushed tomatoes anymore – I can just do this and puree! Thanks!