Tomatoes

Reach for these other tomato products when you run out of paste.

Are you part of a CSA this season? I’m four weeks into mine, and I’ve been sharing what I got every week and how I plan to cook/eat my way through it. This week I received my first couple summer tomatoes — all bright, red, and juicy!Blueberries Corn Lettuce Kale Beets Red potatoes Squash Green beans Tomatoes Cucumbers Blueberries: Faith argued it already:  panna cotta really is the perfect dessert.

Praised for their flavor, San Marzano tomatoes hail from a specific region of Italy. Learn what makes them special, why San Marzano canned tomatoes are so prominently labeled, and how to use them in recipes.

Whether you're using a Roma tomato, supermarket staple, or heirloom variety, learning how to dice a tomato properly is key to making salads, salsas, and much more. Get expert tips in this step-by-step visual guide.

We consulted the official tomato expert for all the details.

They can't always be used interchangeably.

Got tomatoes?

Whether you choose store-bought or make your own, tomato paste adds a rich flavor to myriad dishes.

Take your salads to next-level tasty.

Our step-by-step photo guide will show you the way.

No more mealy tomatoes.

Plus, seven great varieties to try.

They're great for snacking, salads, and cooking!

It's way easier than it might seem.

If you’ve been seeding your tomatoes before using them in your cooking, we have news for you: maybe you should stop. Or so says America’s Test Kitchen host Chris Kimball in his new book on the science of cooking. So what’s wrong with seeding tomatoes?

The glories of summer produce are starting to show up, including the long-awaited return of tomatoes! I usually only buy small cherry tomatoes the rest of the year, so my excitement knows no bounds when big beefsteaks, colorful heirloom tomatoes, and dry-fleshed canning tomatoes appear. Here are five things you might not know about this fruit that’s used as a vegetable. Green tomatoes aren’t a type of tomato (with the exception of the Green Zebra, an unusual cultivar).

A quick and easy marinade makes all the difference.

Your pizza will taste better AND you'll save money. Win-win!

This is supremely satisfying.

I can't believe it took me so long to try this.

It's so easy and hands-off yet so celebratory of tomatoes.

Before I get to that secret ingredient (or even to the no-cook tomato sauce that will change your life, I promise you), let me set something straight, for the record: This isn’t actually my no-cook tomato sauce. It belongs to my friend’s mom Peg, or Mrs. Schultz, as I still call her some 30 years later. Amelia and I were friends and so were our moms, something I never quite understood. It was an unlikely pairing. Mrs. Schultz was everything my German mom was not.

Everyone has an opinion on barbecue. (Don’t they?) There are three basic sauce options: mustard, tomato, and my favorite, vinegar. Each variation has its devotees, and many gatherings in this neck of the woods include impromptu debates of varying degrees of intensity about which one is the best. I don’t participate in the debate, because my mouth is full.Let’s get one thing out of the way.

Forget canning and instead look to the freezer.

When it comes to canned tomatoes, one name reigns supreme: San Marzano. But how can a small town near Naples, Italy produce enough tomatoes to fill the supermarket shelves year round? Easy — it doesn’t. Here’s what to look for to make sure you aren’t paying premium prices for San Marzano fakes. Gusti Blog offers a few tips from the Cosorzio San Marzano for identifying the real deal when buying San Marzano tomatoes.

We originally thought we’d post something this afternoon about traditional bruschetta — a simple, colorful way to showcase summer tomatoes. But that’s an easy one. Chopped tomatoes, maybe a bit of basil and onion, piled on crusty bread slices that have been toasted with olive oil and rubbed with garlic.

Quick meals are a must during the busy holiday season, and we definitely turn to the grocery store for some help. Having a jar of pre-made tomato sauce on hand to pour over a bowl of pasta can be a life-saver when we’re tired and cranky! Here are a few tips on adding more flavor to this simple meal:For doctoring purposes, we recommend heating up the tomato sauce in a pan on the stove.

Q: I have finally started keeping canned tomatoes as a pantry staple. Many of the recipes that I use them for require a thorough draining. It seems like such a waste to throw out the juice, so I’ve been freezing it in ice cube trays.How can I put my growing frozen tomato juice reserves to use?Sent by SofiaEditor: Sofia, what a great question. We hate throwing out all that tomato juiciness too. What about pouring it into soups to amp up the flavor a bit?

We tend to eat a lot of pizza during the summer months. Not only is pizza the perfect vehicle for fresh seasonal toppings, but we can make them on the grill or the stove top without heating up the kitchen. But we do get tired of using the same old tomato sauce as the base time and again.It seems like almost any sauce that you’d toss with pasta or pre-dinner dip can make a good base for a pizza if you pair it with the right toppings.

Q: I decided to switch to using tubed tomato paste (2x concentrated) instead of the canned variety. How can I substitute tubed paste into a recipe that calls for canned paste?Sent by AlanEditor: Alan, when we use tubed tomato paste we generally use about half of what is called for in canned tomato paste.Readers, how do you use tomato paste in a tube? Do you substitute 1:1, or change the amount?Next question?

Now that the fresh tomatoes are finally coming in, we’re in seventh heaven using them every way we can. Whenever we put tomatoes in a cooked dish, we find that we gain sweet flavors, but lose that the super fresh, bright tomato flavor that we love. Tomato leaves might just be the answer.In On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee explains that tomato leaves contain certain enzymes and oils that give them a very strong “fresh tomato” aroma.

Q: My husband loves sun-dried tomatoes, so we bought some in Venice last year. But they’ve been languishing in our cupboard for months because we’re not really sure how to cook with them. Is there anything special we need to do before we eat them (e.g. soak them)? And can you recommend any recipes for using them?

Q: I froze a bag of big beautiful yellow tomatoes to use in the dead of winter. I’d love to make a sauce, but what is the best way to thaw them? Should I leave them on the counter or put the frozen tomatoes directly in the pan and let them thaw as they cook?Sent by KatherineEditor: Katherine, I’ve thawed them every which way — microwaved for a cook defrost, left on the counter for a few hours, chilled in the fridge overnight.

Show of hands. How many times have you actually finished a can of tomato paste? Be honest now. Here, I’ll go first: Approximately zero. I tend to use tomato paste in recipes that require only a tablespoon or two, and then I stash the rest of the can in the fridge, furtively and guiltily, knowing it will not see the light of day again until it grows a thin layer of fuzzy organisms and goes to its final rest in the recycle bin. Shameful, I know. I feel shame.

It’s that time of year again. The time when heirloom tomatoes, in their rainbow of colored skins, scarred bodies and hefty price tags blanket the tables at the farmers market. Why are these heirloom tomatoes so special, and are they worth the premium cost? I let myself splurge on heirlooms once or twice a summer, and I go through the same cycle year after year. Despite eyeing the price tag that hangs above the table (around $4.50/lb.

Q: I’ve had an issue with tomato-based recipes in my beloved slow cooker: they all seem to get that burned tomato aroma and flavor (like when you leave spaghetti sauce on the stove too long or too high). I work all day and don’t have time to stir the contents, so it often gets that “rind” along the top of the crock, but that happens with any recipe I make — I don’t have the burnt issue with non-tomato recipes.

Q: I have a recipe that calls for “tomato broth.” (Part of a recipe for Panera Bread’s vegetable soup.) I’ve never heard of it — what is it compared to tomato soup, stock or base? It’s confusing. I have been online to get info but there seems to be no clarity in making it. Please kindly explain and help with a recipe for it so I can add it to the soup.

Along with milk and eggs, cherry tomatoes have a permanent spot on my shoppig list. For one, my kid eats them by the fistful. For two, I snack on them constantly while I cook. And for three, they act as a secret weapon when a dish needs a little extra color or flavor boost — because, in case you didn’t know, tomatoes are bursting with natural umami.

Q: When you go to the grocery store, you can find dry sun-dried tomatoes and also sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Would it be safe to buy dried ones and cover them in olive oil at home in say, a mason jar, to just pop in the fridge? I don’t know if there’s any kind of bacteria to worry about.

Q: I made the mistake of letting my husband go to our local pickling shop alone. I now have two-and-a-half quarts of pickled green tomatoes and one quart of pickled garlic with capers. Do you know of any recipes that would help to use them up? While delicious, I feel like the two of us will get bored quickly simply snacking on them … or go into a salt overload. Thank you! Sent by Sydney Editor: I laughed out loud when I read this email, just imagining what your reaction might have been!

There are some kitchen chores that grow tedious when volume becomes a factor. For example, slicing a handful of cherry tomatoes goes quickly, but when you have a pint or two to get through, the task feels daunting. Cutting cherry tomatoes is a necessary evil because slices are easy to eat in salads and cook faster in quick pasta sauces. So how can you cut a bunch of cherry tomatoes in half at once instead of slicing a whole pint one by one? There’s a trick.

There are a dozen different ways to cut a tomato, but the best method depends on the tomatoes’ intended use. Tomato wedges are ideal for salads of all kinds — tomato salads, green salads, or for just eating drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. The goal for cutting tomatoes into wedges is to keep the tomatoes’ seed jelly intact once cut. Thinking about how a tomato grows and learning its parts will make slicing it much easier.

Maybe you don’t even need to be talked into adding fruit to your tomato salad because you’re well aware of tomato’s classification as a fruit. And perhaps you’re also aware of how its inherent acidity is the most welcome guest in a too-sweet fruit salad. If, however, the combination of tomato and fruit baffles you or leaves you skeptical, permit me to do some convincing.

When my colleagues and I got to talking about all the ways we couldn’t wait to inhale tomatoes this summer, Hali called out her favorite snack from Spain. Pan con tomate, which quite literally translates to “bread with tomato,” is a classic tapa that originates from the northeastern region of Catalonia.

Sometimes the best way to eat more salad is to think outside the salad plate. We find this to be particularly true with caprese, the much-loved salad layered with a trio of ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil. To make sure you get your fill this summer, here are five more ways to eat caprese (sans salad plate). Consider your morning (or lunchtime) avocado toast a blank canvas, waiting to be topped with bite-sized tomatoes, mozzarella pieces, and torn fresh basil leaves.

Late summer is prime tomato season, which means I’m adding them to every meal I can. They’re so versatile that they can be the star of a dish or fabulous garnish. No matter what shape, size, or color you get, they’re sure to brighten any meal. So use these ideas to pack in all the tomatoes you can before the season ends. Yes, this is an obvious one, but tomato salads are anything but boring. Make this as simple or complicated as you’d like.

Sometimes it’s the littlest things in the kitchen that can elicit the feeling of pure joy. For me, it’s a kitchen tool I received as a wedding gift — one that, right now, is making the bounty of perfectly ripe summer tomatoes even more enjoyable. Roughly the size of a utility knife, with a serrated blade and a sharp, two-pronged tip ideal for coring, tomato knives are a tool of pure genius. For a true tomato-lover, these knives are the darling of the knife block.

Maybe instructions for slicing a tomato seem silly, especially since no matter how you slice a ripe tomato, it will still be meaty, juicy, and mouthwatering with nothing more than a sprinkle of salt. If you’ve ever had a luscious tomato fall apart before you could get it on that BLT, though, you understand that just one important trick means the difference between a sliced tomato and a perfectly sliced tomato. Cutting against the core is the key to keeping slices intact.

Grating vegetables is nothing new — we grate carrots and cabbage for slaws, zucchini for muffins — yet you’re wondering, why would I ever grate a tomato? The simple answer is that grating a tomato is the fastest and easiest way to peel and purée a tomato in one fell swoop, but there are a few more reasons too. Grating whole tomatoes on a box grater simultaneously removes the tomato skin and grates the tomatoes into a chunky purée.

Peeling tomatoes is an arduous task whether you blanch the tomatoes or employ a serrated peeler. Some would argue there is rarely a need for peeling tomatoes (the peel is quite edible after all), but some specific instances call for peeling tomatoes to make a better end product. Here are five. Here’s the obvious one: Tiny tomatoes don’t need to be peeled. Large heirloom varieties, with their tender skin, don’t need peeling either.

The lie that tomato seeds are bitter has met its timely end. We now know that the seed pulp is actually quite flavorful and we should not discard it to the waste pile. When a recipe calls for removing tomato pulp, it’s usually for a textural reason — say, a super-smooth sauce or for juicing the tomato pulp. The seeds and pulp are captured in cavities around the stem of the fruit, and those same cavities are just calling to be stuffed with flavorful fillings.

Tomato storage can be quite controversial. Many hold on to the belief that tomatoes should under no circumstance be stored in the refrigerator. Some have never heard such advice. Some keep their garden tomatoes on a kitchen windowsill and, while it is incredibly charming, it might not be the best way to store whole tomatoes. The best way depends a bit on temperature and timing.

Few fruits are romanticized more than the tomato. During peak tomato season, tomato-lovers flock to farmers markets and roadside stands to purchase tomatoes of every shape, size, and color. Pounds of tomatoes are snatched up without hesitation because nothing promises quality quite like farmers market tomatoes in the summer. But what about at the supermarket?

Once you’ve tasted fresh mozzarella, nothing else compares. Forget the shredded stuff and ditch the block of low-moisture mozz — soft, fresh mozzarella is milky perfection. And that’s particularly true when it’s paired with its best counterpart: tomatoes. Whether you’re serving sweet, juicy in-season tomatoes with mozzarella for a caprese salad, sandwich, pizza, you have plenty of choices for which kind of fresh mozzarella to use.

It's easy to get carried away this time of year and overdo it with your tomato purchasing.

Just because you’ve had your fill of tomato sandwiches, panzanella salad, and all things caprese doesn’t mean it’s time to stop enjoying the brightest, sweetest, juiciest tomatoes of the year. You just need to take a different approach. Instead of eating your tomatoes, start drinking them each and every way possible. Simple and straightforward. If a glass is how you want to get your fill of summer tomatoes, this is the easiest way to make it happen.

Right now is arguably the best time of the whole summer to get your fill of fresh tomatoes. These deep-red beauties are so perfect that there’s a good chance you’ll smell their sweet scent wafting through the air before you even see them. Take a pound home with you and you’ll be delighted by these five ways to serve them up. This classic Italian salad is a simple, satisfying blend of juicy, ripe tomatoes and day-old bread tossed with a light vinaigrette.

There’s a whole lot to love about summer eating, and while it’s hard to pick a favorite, I’d argue that tomatoes are pretty high up there. I take a hard pass on the pale, mealy versions available at the supermarket year-round and instead wait to bite into the absolute best for just a few short months in the summer. I’m not alone in this feeling — 10 smart, seasoned home cooks agree that nothing beats the juicy sweetness of summer tomatoes.

By now, you’ve likely eaten tomatoes every which way this summer. Maybe you’ve enjoyed them on toast, in a caprese salad, with pasta, or in pie. But there’s one way you likely haven’t enjoyed them, and it’s the perfect way to celebrate their juicy sweetness as the season begins to draw to a close. Try pairing summer tomatoes with a pinch of ground cinnamon (yes, cinnamon!). Let us explain why.

Next time you’re in the canned tomato aisle at the grocery store, forgo you’re usual plain diced tomatoes and opt for a can of Ro-tel. The Southern favorite is a blend of diced tomatoes and fire-roasted green chilies, so it has all the juicy sweetness you’ll find in regular canned tomatoes but with the bonus of bold, smoky spice. Basically, it has the potential to jazz up a whole lot of meals. Here are our 10 favorite ways to use a can.