https://www.patreon.com/posts/every-way-to-cut-122604828
If you are to believe those old Ginsu knife commercials, cutting a tomato is the ultimate test of the sharpness of a knife. This is not completely inaccurate. A really ripe beefsteak tomato is like a water balloon. More accurately, it’s like millions of tiny water balloons that are all taped together. (And even more accurately, it’s like millions of individual plant cells bound together by the carbohydrate glue pectin.)
The thing is, in a ripe tomato, those balloons are really full, and really delicate, which means that even the slightest pressure can rupture them, bruising the tomato and leaking its precious fluids out onto the cutting board (or worse, in the shopping bag) before it can even reach your plate.
So before we even get to the steps in the video, the real key to cutting a tomato is having the right kind of knife, and that means a sharp one. I prefer a good chef’s knife or santoku, but any sharp knife that feels comfortable for you is will work.
0:00 - Intro
0:12 - Types of Tomatoes Explained
0:27 - Why Smaller Tomatoes Taste Better Off-Season
1:12 - How Tomatoes Are Ripened & Their Impact on Flavor
2:06 - How to Store Tomatoes Properly
2:49 - Should You Refrigerate Tomatoes?
4:24 - Peeling Roma Tomatoes (Blanching Method)
7:01 - Peeling Tomatoes with a Torch or Open Flame
8:14 - How to Cut Tomatoes for Sauce
9:22 - How to Dice Tomatoes (Tomato Concassé)
9:57 - How to Slice Tomatoes for Sandwiches
10:32 - How to Cut Tomato Wedges & Chunks
11:25 - Best Way to Cut Cherry Tomatoes (Lid Trick)
12:04 - Should You Use Canned or Fresh Tomatoes for Sauce?
12:36 - Final Recap & Sign-Off
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I have a podcast! It's called The Recipe with Kenji and Deb and I host it with my friend Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. In each episode we talk about the recipe development process--how we take a dish from conception to ready-for-someone-else's-kitchen to show you what goes on under the kitchen hood when it comes to recipe development. You can get it here: https://www.therecipepodcast.com/
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AFFILIATE SALES: The following products linked or tagged in my posts or videos generate affiliate sales revenue for the site. This fact does not impact my review or recommendation process, and in general, we favor third-party affiliate links over direct affiliate links in order to avoid any conflicts of interest. Read more about my editorial standards here: http://www.kenjilopezalt.com/bio
AFFILIATE LINKS
Boos Cutting Board: https://www.amazon.com/John-Boos-R03-Reversible-Cutting/dp/B0000CFV4K/ref=sr_1_4/?tag=kenjilopezalt-20
Iwatani Portable Butane Stove: https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Cassette-VA-30-Portable-Butane/dp/B07V7JNTLB/?tag=kenjilopezalt-20
Kan Chef Knife: vhttps://kankitchen.com/products/chef-knife?variant=43563628331171
Oxo 12"" Tongs: https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-12-Inch-Stainless-Steel-Locking/dp/B00004OCK1/ref=sr_1_6_mod_primary_new/?tag=kenjilopezalt-20
CREDITS
Shot by: Michael Weiner
Edited by: Alex Oh
Produced By: Kenji Lopez-Alt, Lena Davidson