Do you peel tomatoes for salsa?

Hi- I did not see any posts about this. I love to make salsa when I have lots of tomatoes in my garden, or when I can purchase decent ones for not much money at the farmer's market. I prefer to eat salsa where the tomatoes have been pealed, but sometimes that is time consuming. Is there anyone here that does not peel their tomatoes when they make salsa?

The last batch of salsa I made, I used mint instead of cilantro, and I think I added too much mint, because I could hardly taste the hot pepper. I got the recipe from Henry Brockman's blog a few weeks ago His sister says that she never uses cilantro in her salsa, and uses mint instead, because it is much easier to find this time of year when tomatoes are ripe. Henry and his sister come to the Evanston farmer's market every Saturday. If anybody is interested in the recipe, I could post a link to it. Thanks for any input, Nancy

Hi

I don't peel tomatoes mostly, unless I am doing a "fresh tomato pasta sauce" and already have the water boiling, so I'll dunk them in the water bath just before I put in the pasta. Then I peel, cut in half to squeeze out the seeds, fast chop, and by the time my pasta is done cooking, I have a hot fresh tomato sauce. Never for salsa or salads, though I will squeeze out the seeds sometimes.

I hardly ever peel tomatoes; never for salsa.

It really depends on the tomatoes. Sometimes they have thick skin in which case I do peel them. Cris crossing before the quick hot water, makes it very easy to peel them, so I dont usually mind doing it.

Nupe, never peel--but I use the blender after rough chopping everything.

Geo

Fresh salsa, no. Roasted, yes.

I've eaten and prepared them both ways, and in all honesty (I'm sure the foodie gods will be aghast by this), I've yet to discern the utility of peeling a tomato for any recipe.

Grizzly wrote:I've eaten and prepared them both ways, and in all honesty (I'm sure the foodie gods will be aghast by this), I've yet to discern the utility of peeling a tomato for any recipe.

Random tomato skins rolled up like scrolls are appealling?

For a fresh salsa, I don't peel. For those I preserve for the future, I will skin.

Regards,

Speaking of peeling tomatoes, I just taught Sparky to make the homemade tomato sauce that I can every year, and found this terrific method for peeling tomatoes. It won't work for fresh tomato sauces/salsas, but if you're cooking them, it's amazingly easy - plus, sometimes the seed pods pop out in one frozen chunk, too.

I don't like to parboil tomatoes because I think you lose a bit of juices in the process. I often roast mine to get the skins off, but it means heating up the house in the middle of summer...this method works just fine and has neither drawback.

MHays,

FYI - Last weekend I blanched and peeled at least a half bushel of tomatoes. When it was time to squueze out the seeds, I had a sieve over a pitcher. I squeeze enough seeds and juice into the sieve, I had about 3/4 gallon tomato juice afterwards.

Skins, cores and seeds were recycled.

Regards,

Nah, lazy.

Cathy2 wrote:MHays,

FYI - Last weekend I blanched and peeled at least a half bushel of tomatoes. When it was time to squueze out the seeds, I had a sieve over a pitcher. I squeeze enough seeds and juice into the sieve, I had about 3/4 gallon tomato juice afterwards.

Skins, cores and seeds were recycled.

Regards,

I do the same - except I toss all the seeds and cores into the pot and sieve them after they're thoroughly cooked and mushy. Then I reduce the juice and add back in the "petals" to make a chunky sauce. This time I felt able to toss the skins completely in the compost, as they came off totally clean.

Cathy2 wrote:

Grizzly wrote:I've eaten and prepared them both ways, and in all honesty (I'm sure the foodie gods will be aghast by this), I've yet to discern the utility of peeling a tomato for any recipe.

Random tomato skins rolled up like scrolls are appealling?

For a fresh salsa, I don't peel. For those I preserve for the future, I will skin.

Regards,

Well, I predicted a "foodie god(ess)" would object...

But that said, for a cold, fresh tomato sauce, with simple sea salt, olive oil pepper and fresh basil...

"Random tomato skins rolled up like scrolls" just aren't an issue.

With respect to Cathy2, I agree that a canned, preserved sauce or tomato benefits from being peeled.

Couldn't find a better place to drop this, slicing a quantity of cherry tomatoes at once:

Oh that's brilliant! Thanks, Cathy!

So, my new favorite Salsa is from a Mexican (chain) called Burrito Parrilla Mexicana, they have locations mostly in the Western suburbs. Pretty standard, but fresh and tasty Mexican food. They also have a trompo of Al pastor which is good. Anyway, back to the red tomato salsa, it's addictive. Smooth, and a little spicy. I emailed them for the ingredients, and they told me it's

• Cooked red peeled tomatoes
• Arbol Pepper
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Cumin
• Onions
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Salt

They didn't tell me what of each, but I am happy to estimate how much of each. My questions are: Is it hard to find an Arbol Pepper? I assume cooked red peeled tomatoes can come from a can, and cooked down a little to improve the flavor? Any tips would be appreciated!!

never peel, always de-seed, dice, salt, and let sit in a strainer for 30 mins

HonestMan wrote:So, my new favorite Salsa is from a Mexican (chain) called Burrito Parrilla Mexicana, they have locations mostly in the Western suburbs. Pretty standard, but fresh and tasty Mexican food. They also have a trompo of Al pastor which is good. Anyway, back to the red tomato salsa, it's addictive. Smooth, and a little spicy. I emailed them for the ingredients, and they told me it's

• Cooked red peeled tomatoes
• Arbol Pepper
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Cumin
• Onions
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Salt

They didn't tell me what of each, but I am happy to estimate how much of each. My questions are: Is it hard to find an Arbol Pepper? I assume cooked red peeled tomatoes can come from a can, and cooked down a little to improve the flavor? Any tips would be appreciated!!

You can find dried arbol in most ethnic markets that carry Mexican products. Usually bagged in small portions, like this:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/El-Mexicano- ... 3=&veh=sem

You can find them fresh occasionally but dried is easier to track down.