Tomato Water

Is there a way to make tomato water with out making some sort of a puree so that you can extract the juices but not have to discard or find some obscure use for the tomato solids? For example could you compress and cook (at a very low temp) the tomatoes sous vide with salt and acid and then strain the liquid and use the compressed tomatoes in a salad? Just wondering if anyone has discovered a new method to an old recipe.

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grant

Not really, I am sure the are some corrosive chemical means. By the fiber cellulose won't break down with bet along. Think making paper. Throwing out the pulp is not a big deal for us. It like what do you do with the bones after you have made a stock.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Here's how I do it.

I switched to this method long ago because I got tired of processing tomatoes in a super-hot late summer kitchen.

Zero-heat tomato water and conserva.

Wash tomatoes thoroughly (preferably a well flavored roma-type, like Martino's Roma or Opalka, but any tomato will work.)

Place tomatoes on sheet pan and freeze solid.

Remove tomatoes from freezer and run under a slow steady stream of cold water, the skins will easily slip off.

Very coarsely chop the semi-frozen tomatoes (3/4" sized pieces) and place in a cheesecloth or muslim lined colander overnight or until they stop draining. The resulting tomato water will be quite clear.

Run the tomato remains through a food mill to remove the seeds. This is a snap because the freezing does a very good job of breaking down the tomato flesh. The resulting conserva should be thick enough so that a wooden spoon will stand up in it.

I then freeze the conserva or further process it.

This requires some planning ahead, but it produces some very nice tomato water and conserva without a lot of fuss or heat!!!

HTH

~Martin

DiggingDogFarm_65362

You could toss the tomato remains after the draining step, but, GASP!, why do that? : )

~Martin

Johan_Edstrom_5586

DiggingDogFarm - neat and simple process, not to mention I learned a new word, Conserva - Thanks!

andre.natera

Thanks for the information.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Martin - that sounds like a very good, very simple process, thanks!

Lorenzo_Noccioli_55422

This is how i usually make tomato water (to be honest, mine isn't really a tomato water but a clarified conserva);

you can start from any kind of tomato (pelati, ready made conserva, fresh tomatoes);

i usually start with fresh tomatoes (san marzano or other sauce prone tomatoes), blanch, put in water and then peel;
i make tomatoes puree with a specific tool (a food mill, in italian passaverdure) that will prevent the tomatoes become orange (this always happen when i puree tomatoes in blender or with a immersion blender);

next i "superfilter" the tomatoes sauce with gelatin; i soak and dissolve in a bit of boiling water 0,5% of puree in weight of gelatin, then i add this to the tomato sauce and freeze it; once freezed i let it unfreeze in the fridge (around 4°C), keeping the freezed mass in a filter (i use coffe filter) over a cup; it should unfreeze slowly and fill the cup with a crystal clear liquid with deep tomato flavour; do not discard the solid part... its stil flavourful, you can freeze dry it, dehydratate, compress... and so

some variation mai include cooking the sauce (and season it maybe with basil or some lemon) to obtain a tomato sauce water;

you can clarify almost all with this method... including coffee!

BTW... in italy i think its prohibited by law to freeze fresh tomatoes

sonicmultimedia

I make a very simple tomato water pasta that's a version of Michael Ruhlman's recipe on his website. Dice tomatoes with a little bit of chopped parsley, season somewhat heavily with salt/pepper in a colander over a bowl. Gently massage the mix every 5-10min and you'll have a good amount of delicious tomato water.

Saute some garlic and red pepper flakes with some oil in a large saute pan and then reduce the tomato water. Season to taste. Add cooked angel hair pasta to the sauce, mount with nob of butter and stir in some more chopped basil.

Plate the dressed pasta and then you can add a topping of the tomato dice mix.

Super simple but my girlfriend asks for it all the time