The taste of raw tomatoes

The taste of raw tomatoes

Let's say you were going to make a salad with tomato slices, you might have peeled them (if not, try it as soon as possible!) and sliced them before putting them in your salad bowl. It's natural to do this, but it will have an unpleasant effect: when in contact with the dressing and the salt it contains, the tomato slices will give off a lot of juice, vegetation water in fact, and this juice will dilute the sauce in question. This means that if you prepare your tomato salad in advance, it is likely to be bathed in a very liquid juice-sauce mixture, which is not very pleasant.

Can this be avoided? Yes, there is a way to correct this problem, as in this recipe for example:

- You peel your tomatoes (if possible)
- You cut them into slices
- You lightly salt the tomato slices on each side with fine salt (very important)
- You put these salted slices on a grid, and you let them rest for 1 hour if possible, 30 minutes minimum

Doing it this way will have 2 effects:

1) The fine salt in contact with the tomato slices, will pump some of the water that will fall under the grill, which will "dry" the tomatoes a little, and all this water will not go into your salad afterwards.
2) The salt will enhance the taste of your tomatoes

After the resting time, drain carefully the slices, continue your tomato salad as you were used to, but think about reducing or removing the salt from your sauce, since you bring it with the tomatoes, and we must always be careful with salt in our diet.

This way of proceeding can also be applied for stuffed tomatoes for example: once hollowed out, salt the inside and put them upside down on a grid for 1 hour. Then use as usual.

To sum up: Before using tomatoes in a recipe, especially raw, it is always better to salt them with fine salt, and let them rest for a good hour so that the excess vegetation water escapes, and then use them normally.

What to do with the tomato water recovered in this way? Put it in a closed jar in the fridge, and pour it into a sauce or the cooking of your next recipe based on cooked tomatoes. Or... make yourself an amazing, clear Bloody-Mary!

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