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This post is a continuation of my previous post on how to substitute fresh ingredients for canned. How many recipes do you have that call for canned tomatoes? I know there are quite a few in my recipe collection. In today’s post I’m going to share how to take heart healthy tomatoes right from the vine to your table, as well as when you probably should skip the fresh and use canned instead.
Wait, did you just say canned can be better than fresh?
You heard me right! Many people think all canned foods are a compromise, trading quality for convenience. That’s not always the case. With tomatoes, for example, the “fresh” tomatoes available at grocery stores for most of the year are hard and lacking flavor, grown and picked purely for their storage characteristics.
In contrast, canned tomatoes are usually picked at their peak ripeness or nearly ripe, then processed almost immediately in a nearby factory. Their quality is consistent and their flavor is usually better than supermarket tomatoes. However, if tomatoes are in season, go ahead and substitute fresh for canned! (Here in the U.S. tomatoes are in season during late summer and the fall months).
Digging a little bit deeper, I would like to point out one nutrient in particular – lycopene. If you haven’t heard of lycopene you are missing out! Lycopene is a bright red pigment (the stuff that makes our food colorful) and a phytonutrient (think antioxidant effects…a cancer fighter!) that is found most commonly in tomatoes and tomato products. Other food sources include watermelon, pink grapefruit, and pink or red guava.
Unlike most fruits and vegetables, where cooking decreases nutritional content, processing tomatoes actually increases the concentration of lycopene. Our bodies absorb lycopene from tomato paste four times better than from fresh tomatoes!
So if you are looking to boost your antioxidant intake through tomatoes, your best bets are pasteurized tomato juice, tomato soup, tomato paste, tomato sauce and ketchup. Tomatoes are also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, and B vitamins.
When tomatoes are in season, how do I use them in place of canned?
Chef Fred Decker explains how to take fresh tomatoes and prepare them for use in place of canned varieties:
“Skinning the Tomatoes
The first step in preparing your tomatoes is skinning them. There are peelers designed especially to do this job, but really ripe tomatoes might not cooperate. It’s easier to blanch them in boiling water. To do this, core your tomatoes at the stem end, then cut a small “X” in the bottom with a paring knife. Drop the tomatoes a few at a time into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then transfer them to a bowl of ice water. Once they’re cooled, the skins will slip off the tomatoes with a minimum of fuss.
Cutting and Dicing
Cut each tomato across its midsection, so you can plainly see the pattern of seeds and flesh in the middle. Squeeze each half gently to remove most of the seeds and watery pulp, then remove the rest with a finger or a small spoon. If your recipe calls for the juice of the tomatoes, squeeze out the pulp into a colander over a bowl and save the juices. Place the tomatoes on a cutting board and dice them into 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch pieces, as desired. Use these in your recipes, and set aside any excess to freeze or can.
Using Your Tomatoes
If you’re cooking down your tomatoes to make sauce, you might not be worried about precise quantities. However, if you’re working from a written recipe, it probably calls for a specific quantity of tomatoes. Most brands come in 14-ounce and 28-ounce sizes, slightly less than 2 and 4 cups, respectively. To replace a 14-ounce can of tomatoes, spoon diced tomatoes loosely into a 2-cup measuring cup until they reach the 1 3/4 cup mark. Add enough of your reserved tomato juices, if called for, to cover the tomatoes. If your recipe calls for a 28-ounce can, do this twice.”
You can then add whichever seasonings you desire, depending on the recipe you are using the tomatoes in. The options are endless, so go ahead and experiment and find out what you like best!
If you want information on canning your tomatoes at home, the National Center for Home Food Preservation has some great information and recipes!
Do you have a question for the dietitian? Go ahead and send me a message!
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