By Tomato Queen

How to make a tomato glow: Okay, I’m not saying it’s right. I’m fairly sure this is what my pal Charlotte would call “sick and wrong.” But if you’d like to learn how to make a tomato glow in the dark, or just see a pretty cool instructional video showing you how to do so, gizmodo.com has a tutorial called Just not eating them.

All fear the Tomato Witch: with her efficient slicing power, the tomato witch will make quick work of slicing that unripe, mushy thing called a tomato available in the stores now that tomato season is over. Probably also useful for slicing copious amounts of cheese, but: do you really need one?
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By Michelle Fabio

Maybe you’ve just squeezed some tomato juice or made some skinless sauce and you’re wondering what you can do with all those skins.

Here are some ideas:

• Keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to make a broth, which is also an excellent way to reuse peelings and other remains of potatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic, parsley, etc. Put them in a pot over medium heat, add some olive oil and salt, and once everything is softened a bit, cover them with water, bring the pot to a boil, and then let simmer for about a half hour. Strain well, and you have a great base for many stews and soups.
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By Tomato Queen

Honestly, these are things I think I can live without.

But who am I to keep a kitchen gadget from someone’s eager hands?

Below are several seemingly useless tomato gadgets on the market; but depending on your needs, your mileage may vary:

Zyliss Tomato Peeler - Marketed as a soft peeler in the United States, this same product is marketed from several UK vendors as a “tomato peeler,” so perhaps this is considered more of a normative utensil on the other side of the pond. It seems a very tedious job to peel a raw tomato, when the skin plops right off after blanching, but blanching tomatoes isn’t necessarily for everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

By Amelia Tucker

Often when searching for a great Italian recipe, you will see the Roma type tomato recommended.

What is a Roma tomato and why is it so special?

A Roma tomato looks quite different from the regular shaped tomatoes that you are used to. They are oblong and often have a pointy bottom instead of a relatively flat one.
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By Tomato Queen

I’ll admit that eying the stacks of gleaming tomato jars in my cabinet has brought almost as much satisfaction over the long, bleak months of winter as eating them in a delicious sauce or stew.

Canning (really, jarring) preserves the texture and flavors of tomatoes like nothing else, and is an affordable way to eat organic and/or heirloom tomatoes year-round.

But make no mistake: canning definitely takes time and equipment.

Those who haven’t canned find it daunting, but have no fear; following a few basic essentials—sterility, acidity, heat—will ensure safe and delicious tomatoes for 1-2 years.

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By Michelle Fabio

A little while ago, we talked about freezing raw tomatoes, and here are some more preservation ideas to make the most of your tomato crop:

Freezing tomato juice.

After washing and trimming the stem ends from the tomatoes, cut into quarters or eighths. Simmer on the stove for about 5-10 minutes, then take off the heat and let sit for about an hour.

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