Epicurious - Tomato Hacks That Will Level Up Your Cooking Game | Epicurious
Tomatoes are described as a versatile ingredient with multiple culinary uses due to their composition of water, sugars, acids, umami, and fibrous carbs. Techniques for enhancing tomatoes include charring to concentrate flavors, pickling to mimic olives, and confiting in oil for a rich taste. Tomato water, extracted by salting and straining, serves as a flavorful base for dressings, broths, and marinades. Dehydrated tomato skins can be used as chips or ground into powder for seasoning. The video also explores using tomato water in caramel for a sweet-savory twist and creating tomato jam by combining with fruits like strawberries. Tomato stems can be used to make vinegar or ground into powder for a garden-like flavor. These methods highlight the tomato's potential beyond traditional uses, encouraging creative culinary applications.
Key Points:
- Char tomatoes to enhance flavor and create depth.
- Use tomato water as a base for dressings, broths, and marinades.
- Dehydrate tomato skins for chips or grind into powder for seasoning.
- Incorporate tomato water in caramel for a sweet-savory flavor.
- Utilize tomato stems for vinegar or as a powdered seasoning.
Details:
1. 🍅 The Multifaceted Tomato
- A tomato is described as more than just a fruit; it's likened to a Swiss army knife, indicating its versatility.
- Tomato contains multiple components such as water, sugar, acids, umami, color, and jammy carbohydrates, showcasing its multifunctionality.
2. 🌟 Elevating Ordinary Tomatoes
- Charring tomatoes in a hot cast iron pan concentrates their flavors by evaporating moisture and kick-starting the browning process, enhancing the depth of flavor with earthiness and nuttiness.
- For an antipasti tomato, stop after charring, season with salt, olive oil, and serve as a spoonable dish.
- For a more mushy texture, continue cooking the charred tomatoes with salt until they become melty and concentrated, ideal for winter when fresh tomatoes are not in season.
- Pickling baby tomatoes turns them into olive-like snacks, and mixing any tomato with vinegar and wine can create tomato vinegar.
- Cooking tomatoes slowly in oil at low heat for an hour results in confit tomatoes, which can be used as flavored oil.
- To elevate bland tomatoes for sandwiches, pickle them using a mixture of ketchup, soy sauce, and vinegar, letting them marinate for 30 minutes for a flavor boost.
- Leverage tomatoes' ability to absorb flavors by smoking them, focusing on perfuming rather than charring, to enhance dishes like smoked tomato ketchup, soup, or jam.
3. 💧 Tomato Water: The Secret Elixir
- Tomato water is derived by chopping, salting, and straining tomatoes, resulting in a sour, sweet, umami-rich, and aromatic liquid.
- It can replace half the vinegar in dressings, thin creamy dressings, and serve as a broth base or pickling liquid.
- Tomato water can be used as a poaching liquid, marinade carrier, and for making egg washes that enhance browning and umami flavors.
- Incorporating tomato water in caramel enhances its complexity, making it suitable for both sweet and savory applications.
- It can be used to create various dishes like tomato beurre monte, which adds emulsifying power and aroma to dishes like pasta and seafood.
- Tomato water is versatile in beverages, serving as a base for non-alcoholic cocktails or mixed with vodka for a flavorful drink.