How to Ripen and Skin Tomatoes the Easy Way

Have you ever wondered how to skin tomatoes?  What about how to ripen tomatoes the best way?  Well our great guide will show you how to ripen and skin tomatoes the easy way.  Now you'll be a culinary genius as far as tomatoes go.  Our tips will make you a pro at tomatoes overnight! 

How to Ripen Tomatoes

Before cooking with tomatoes you always want them to be as ripe as possible, but waiting around for them to ripen on their own can be a frustrating game.  Fortunately, there are some ways out there to speed up the ripening process so that your tomatoes will be ready for your big dinner party.  Some people believe that tomatoes ripen faster in direct sunlight.  This is not true, however.  Tomatoes, like other fruits and vegetables, naturally give off ethlyene gas which plays an important role in the ripening process.  By leaving your tomatoes uncovered in the sun, you are actually allowing all of this helpful gas to escape even faster than usual as the sun heats up the air around your tomatoes.

Instead, one of the best strategies for ripening tomatoes is to do the opposite of sunning them.  Place all of your tomatoes together in a large, dry container and cover the top with newspaper so that the gas is sealed with the tomatoes.  Next, place them somewhere warm and dry around your house.  Some people choose to use a brown paper bag, closed so that the gas doesn't escape.  This is another great way to ripen tomatoes, plus it recycles your old paper grocery bags.  Refrigerating tomatoes will only slow down the ripening process, so avoid doing that.  In only a few days, when you check back in with your tomatoes you'll find that they have been busy ripening. 

How to Skin Tomatoes

Occasionally, you'll come across a recipe that requires you to skin a tomato, but if you've ever tried it then you know too well that it can be a difficult feat--that is if you don't know the trick.  Many people try to use a knife to peel their tomatoes, but you end up taking way too long and potentially cutting your fingers trying to slice through that thin skin.  Luckily, there is a brilliant blanching trick that chefs have discovered that take this painful chore and make it ridiculously easy and simple.

The trick to skinning tomatoes the easy way is to first prepare a pot of boiling water.  What you want to do is called blanching--it is not really cooking the tomatoes, but stimply heating them very rapdily in order to loosen the skin.  Now while your water is heating up, cut an X into the bottom of each tomato.  These will enable you to have an easy start when you are peeling the tomato in a few minutes.  The cuts do not need to be deep. 

Once your water is up to a boil, drop your tomatoes in and let them cook for about 30 seconds or so.  Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water for them.  Pull the tomatoes out of the boiling water after 30 or 40 seconds and then place them in the ice water.  Let them cool off enough to touch them and then peel from the Xs.  You'll find that the skin will easily peel off and you'll be left with a perfect, skinless tomato.  Try checking out some videos online if you're still not sure quite how to do it.

If you'd like some new recipes to give you an excuse to practice your new cooking skill, check out our vast database at Recipe Lion!