This is the best way to tackle canned tomatoes
We love canned tomatoes because you can do so much with them. Sure, it’s summer now and tomatoes are at their best, but if you want to be sure all year round that you can make the best tomato sauce at any given moment, fill your pantry with this all-star. And how do you tackle them?
We’re less fond of canned diced tomatoes, though. Not everyone likes those uniform pieces because, let’s be honest – a cube doesn’t really change shape, no matter how long it simmers. Whole canned tomatoes often turn out (or seem) more flavorful than the diced variety, so we love cooking with them.
It’s a messy job…
But once those beautiful canned plum tomatoes have slipped into the pan, it’s often still a bit of a job to get them (hot and all) one by one precisely under the sharp edge of your spatula so you can actually chop them up. This has cost me quite a few light-colored clothes. One way to solve this is to squeeze the tomatoes straight from the can into small pieces with your hand over the pan. I do this sometimes, but if I’m honest, it’s also f-ing messy. You really have to stand far away from the stove and stretch out your arms to make sure you don’t completely splatter yourself. There you are, with splashes on your white T-shirt and blobs in your hair. And the feeling of squeezing such a wet, soft blob between your fingers: I’ve had more enjoyable experiences.
So what do we do?
We’re also not likely to fish the tomatoes out of the can one by one, put them on a (well-maintained) cutting board, and then chop them up, because an important factor in this whole canned-tomato situation is, of course, CONVENIENCE. So let’s build on that… do you know how to make canned tomatoes small the fastest? Stick (clean) kitchen scissors into the can! Snip snip snip, and done. This way, you get them exactly the size the recipe calls for, while keeping your hands and clothes clean. Handy!
Also read:
- How to give canned tomatoes extra flavor
- Budget cooking: canned tomatoes
- 6 x incredibly delicious foods from a can
