Some recipes require removing the skin from tomatoes before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. Sounds a bit messy and may be intimidating for the less experienced cook, but the process is really quite simple!

Here’s how you do it…

• First gently cut an “X” at the base of the fruit (about 1″ x 1″), next score a small circle lightly around the top “stem” area.
• Put the scored pieces in a deep pot then carefully pour boiling hot water over top, enough to cover.
• Let them sit for about 20 seconds in the hot water, then remove them and dunk in a sink or bowl of very cold ice water (this helps stop them from cooking).
• It should peel off easily now, just grab the lifted corners from the “X” and strip back–sometimes just giving them a gentle squeeze will push them right out and no pulling back is necessary!
• If they are being stubborn and won’t come off easily, just immerse again in boiling water for a few seconds and try again. If the first batch doesn’t go very well, you’ll know to let the next batch start with 30 seconds or so rather than 20 you initially tried.

Next: If you need to seed them as well, just cut in half and gently squeeze out the seeds and watery insides (you’ll find more details on this page ^[1]).

This is commonly done for things like homemade pizza sauce ^[2] and salsa ^[3] recipes, the reason is to avoid having strings of tough fruit in the dish.

This works for peaches too (ideal for canning and preserving). Here’s how…

• Bring a pot of water to boil.
• Cut a small “X” in the bottom of each fruit.
• Drop them into boiling water and cook for approximately 30 seconds.
• Remove from water (a slotted spoon works well) then drop them into a large bowl or pail full of ice water.
• Remove from water after one minute.
• Peel it off easily by starting at the tips of the “X” you cut earlier.

For best results work with only a few at a time, if you’re dealing with too large a quantity you won’t be able to remove them from the boiling water quickly enough and they may cook too long.