Solanum lycopersicum

Tonight while preparing dinner (stay tuned), I was using some tomatoes and decided that I would prefer them peeled. Unlike a firm vegetable or fruit, you can't peel the tomato with a vegetable peeler. Peeling tomatoes is a very easy process, but you need to take a minute to do! Really, from the time I had a pot of water boiling, this step took about a minute, for just two tomatoes, and since I was going to make pasta...the pot of water was already boiling.

Why would you peel a tomato? You don't have to, but have you every had tomato in a cooked dish and had little bits of skin floating around, all rolled up tight? I don't like that! It doesn't look good and who likes to pick bits of tomato skin from your teeth??? It's not necessary, but this quick step can make a pleasant difference to your finished dinner.

How to Peel A Tomato

To start preparing your tomatoes, cut an "X" on their bottoms.

Lower the fruit into a pot of boiling water and let them swim around for about 30 seconds. They will start to shed their suits for you.

Remove the ruby orbs from the pot and give a quick plunge into a bowl of cold water to stop any cooking that started while in the bath. Drain and set aside.

Nekkid Tomatoes! The skin will slough right off. Discard the skin and cut into quarters. Remove the seeds; which when cooked can release an unpleasant bitterness.

Diced! Oops, a few seeds slipped by.