Q&A for How to Blanch Tomatoes

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  • Question
    What are the benefits of blanching?
    Helen Rennie is a chef based in Natick, Massachusetts. She is both the owner of a cooking school and the creator of Helen’s Kitchen, a YouTube channel where she teaches cooking techniques and food science to over 560K subscribers. Helen’s classes and videos focus on many topics, including knife skills, fish, meat, poultry, sauces, vegetables, beans, grains, pies, tarts, pastry, pizza, pasta, grilling, and more. She started her cooking career with an internship in Casablanca Restaurant, and eventually earned a teaching position at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. In 2005, she founded Helen's Kitchen, her culinary education business where she teaches people to cook. Since its founding, Helen’s Kitchen has taught 1,000+ students. Helen's cooking philosophy centers on finding creative ways to prepare local ingredients. She teaches cooking classes in her house in Natick with a strong focus on culinary techniques and food science. She received a BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.
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    Expert Answer
    Blanching helps preserve the color of tomatoes and their flavor if you plan to freeze or can them. Plus, blanching gives you a huge head start when cooking, saving time when you're making big batches of tomato sauces like marinara. 
  • Question
    Can I freeze the blanched tomatoes to make sauce later?
    Community Answer
    I did that last year and my sauce turned out great. I froze the blanched tomatoes in gallon freezer bags and thawed them out before making sauce.
  • Question
    Can I cut out ugly spots that are bruised and then stick them in boiling water?
    Community Answer
    I would so as not to waste any bits. Cut a cross in the skin and then blanch them in boiling water until the skin is able to be peeled off.
  • Question
    What kind of knife should I use for blanching tomatoes?
    Community Answer
    A sharp, small paring knife would be ideal.
  • Question
    How do I can tomatoes without a pressure cooker?
    Community Answer
    Get them to the hottest temperature they can possible get to without burning them or compromising their quality and add a considerable amount of acid (ex: white vinegar) and salt(to taste). The pH should be less than or equal to 4.6.
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