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It’s the season of tomatoes, and we are eating them in a variety of ways. There are raw tomatoes, tomato salads, tomato kachumber and even tomato juice! While these juicy red fruits taste great House Plant Gardening any form, they do tend to split when cooked. To prevent that from happening, here’s a quick trick you can use. The high water content and low natural acidity in tomatoes causes them to split or break when heated or acidic solutions are added to them. So it’s best to cook with tomatoes when they are at their peak ripeness, which is when they give slightly under pressure. But even if your tomatoes aren’t at their sweetest stage yet, you can still prevent them from splitting using this simple trick: Reduce the pH of your tomatoes by sprinkling some lemon juice on them before cooking. That way, you get all the flavor with none of the splitting! Here’s how:
A Note for the Dieters
This trick works best with ripe tomatoes, but if you’re using unripe tomatoes, you may need to add a little bit of sugar to the mix. That will help reduce the acidity, so you don’t get that sour taste in your dish. Folks following the Paleo diet may want to opt for balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice, as it has a lower acidity. And if you’re on a vegan diet, you can also use cider vinegar!
A Note for the Health-Conscious
The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in lemon juice have been proven to have many health benefits, so adding a little bit to your tomato dish is certainly a good thing. But if you’re planning to eat the entire tomato, then this trick might not be a good idea. Since the anti-oxidants are now in the tomato pulp too, the skin might not have enough of it. So be sure to consume the entire tomato if you want to maximize the nutritional benefits of lemon juice. Meanwhile, if you’re using vinegar, be sure to dilute it with water if you’re planning to drink the juice. That way, you don’t get an overly-sour taste in your drink.
A Note for the Weight-Lifting Fitness Buffs
Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which is a potent anti-oxidant that fights against degenerative diseases like cancer and heart diseases. So if you’re a fitness buff, this trick is certainly a good one to know. But if you’re planning to consume the entire tomato, then make sure to use non-hybrid tomatoes. They have way higher levels of lycopene than hybrids. Meanwhile, if you’re using vinegar, be sure to dilute it with water so you don’t get an overly-sour taste in your drink.
A Note for the Kids
Kids love tomatoes, but they might not like the sour taste that they get when they are cooked with lemon juice. If you’re cooking for a young one, consider blanching the tomatoes instead of sprinkling lemon juice on them. You can then transfer the tomatoes to a bowl before adding the rest of the ingredients to the pan so that the little ones don’t get burnt.
Conclusion
It’s the season of tomatoes, and we are eating them in a variety of ways. There are raw tomatoes, tomato salads, tomato kachumber and even tomato juice! While these juicy red fruits taste great in any form, they do tend to split when cooked. To prevent that from happening, here’s a quick trick you can use. The high water content and low natural acidity in tomatoes causes them to split or break when heated or acidic solutions are added to them. So it’s best to cook with tomatoes when they are at their peak ripeness, which is when they give slightly under pressure. But even if your tomatoes aren’t at their sweetest stage yet, you can still prevent them from splitting using this simple trick: Reduce the pH of your tomatoes by sprinkling some lemon juice on them before cooking. That way, you get all the flavor with none of the splitting!
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