Not all housewives have time to pickle tomatoes. Some of them spoil to such an extent that it is no longer possible to salt them, but you can still eat them. Also, sometimes you have to do something with green tomatoes, which are also a shame to throw away. Fortunately, there are several options for rational use of these vegetables.
How to recycle spoiled tomatoes?
Let's say there are a lot of tomatoes stored in the kitchen with minor signs of spoilage in the form of darkening on the skin, softness in some places, etc.
You shouldn’t throw away vegetables, because the beneficial substances in them are preserved even in this state. They only slightly lose their taste. Not everyone likes to add spoiled tomatoes to salads, but they are no longer suitable for pickling.
There are several options for processing such vegetables into tasty additives for dishes:
- Tomato oil . Fleshy fruits are suitable for this. They are washed, allowed to dry and then baked for about 10 minutes. Remove the skin from the softened fruits, add oil and fresh chopped herbs. Then, using a blender, beat the tomatoes until liquid. The resulting butter is ideal for simple sandwiches that can be topped with cheese. It also goes well with meat and fish. By freezing tomato oil, you can extend its shelf life up to six months. If you just store it in a cool place, then it is advisable to use it within a week;
- Salad dressing . The fruits are cut and rubbed through a sieve. To improve the taste, add wine vinegar, salt and honey. Those who like it spicier can also grate the garlic. Whisk everything together and pour the resulting mass with olive oil, as it is better suited for salads than vegetable oil. The shelf life of tomato dressing is six months. After defrosting, it must be beaten before adding to the salad;
- Lecho . According to the classic recipe, in addition to tomatoes, it should contain onions and sweet peppers. Spoiled tomatoes are passed through a meat grinder and allowed to simmer over low heat. To them add peppers cut into half rings, onions and some greens. 40 minutes after boiling, the hot mass is removed from the stove, salted and seasoned with bay leaf. It is poured into jars and screwed. It is advisable to turn the jars over and cover them with a blanket for the day.
In this video, culinary specialist Anna Denisenko will show how you can process and prepare soft, spoiled tomatoes:
Salad dressing
To make this creative dressing, cut very ripe tomatoes in half, press them through a sieve, and discard the skins. Salt the resulting mass, add a small amount of vinegar, mustard, chopped garlic and a little honey. Whisk everything thoroughly, gradually adding olive oil. This dressing can be added to various vegetable salads. Store it in the refrigerator. And before use, you need to warm it a little at room temperature and beat it a little again.
The benefits of processed tomatoes
It is believed that vegetables lose their beneficial qualities after heat treatment and salting. This does not apply to all vegetable crops. Tomatoes are unique in that they can be boiled, fried, salted and without fear that the concentration of nutrients in them will decrease.
Moreover, nutritionists recommend cooking them in a double boiler for those people who have certain stomach problems and are not recommended to eat vegetables raw.
Tomato paste is rich in lycopene. This element plays the role of an antioxidant, reducing the risk of mutated cells, that is, it prevents the formation of oncology. At the same time, tomatoes processed into paste are better absorbed.
Many people do not like to eat this vegetable separately from other dishes. Therefore, as a complement to meat or fish, you can eat a sufficient amount of healthy pasta. It contains a lot of moisture, so it reduces the likelihood of constipation.
Tomato oil
Very ripe tomatoes can be used to make tomato-flavored oil. Bake the tomatoes in the oven for 10 minutes, and then peel and remove the stems. Place the required amount of oil in a blender and add the baked tomatoes. Salt, pepper, and add a little of any herbs you like. Then whisk everything together and get aromatic tomato oil. You can store it in the refrigerator, or you can put it in the freezer and take it out as needed. It’s very tasty to add this butter to porridge, pasta or boiled potatoes, or you can simply make sandwiches with it or spread it on toast.
How to process green tomatoes for the winter?
Green fruits are not as healthy as red ones. The fact is that the red color is provided by the pigment lycopene. Accordingly, it is practically absent in unripe green vegetables. However, they also contain other useful substances, albeit in slightly reduced quantities.
Therefore, you should not throw away green tomatoes either. From them you can do the following:
- Green tomatoes in tomato . Cut them into slices, and cut the onions, carrots and bell peppers into strips. Chop the garlic as thoroughly as possible. Leave all the ingredients except pepper and garlic in the pan for half an hour without turning on the stove. Vegetables should give juice. Only then simmer them over low heat for 15 minutes, adding sunflower oil and paste. Then you can throw pepper and garlic into the boiling mass. After another 10 minutes, add a tablespoon of vinegar (per 1 kg of tomatoes) and pour the stewed vegetables into jars. Covering them with lids, wrap them up and let them stand for a day;
- Lecho . The recipe will be similar to that discussed above with spoiled tomatoes. The only difference will be that lecho with green tomatoes will not be as rich in taste. Therefore, after passing them through a meat grinder while simmering on fire, it is advisable to add finely chopped carrots. In this case, the cooking time increases by 10 minutes. Otherwise, undercooked carrots will cause rapid spoilage of lecho poured into jars.
Tomato sauce
Very ripe tomatoes make excellent spaghetti sauce. To do this, you need to cut the tomatoes into halves and grate them, and the skin that remains in your hands can be thrown away. Add salt and pepper to taste to the resulting tomato mass, chop and add garlic and a little basil. The result is a very tasty tomato sauce that will perfectly complement spaghetti or any other pasta dish! If you don’t eat it all at once, put it in the refrigerator and the sauce will wait for your next lunch.
Freezing: pros and cons
Another way to “save” remaining spoiled tomatoes is freezing.
Unlike processing into paste or lecho, this method has a number of disadvantages :
- Frozen vegetables will take up space in the freezer. Banks can be stored under the bed or any other place where they will not get in the way;
- Some nutrients are lost;
- After defrosting, the tomatoes will be soft, so they are unlikely to be suitable for salad.
Freezing tomatoes also has its advantages :
- The taste of the fruit will remain the same;
- You can cut them in advance and, after defrosting, use them as an ingredient for making pizza or borscht;
- The skin will be easy to remove from thawed tomatoes.
Use in another form
Overripe tomatoes can be used to prepare dishes that will be consumed in the near future. It is worth highlighting the following options:
- Juice. To do this, you need to wash the spoiled fruits, cut off the rotten parts from them, and twist the rest in a meat grinder or juicer. You can add salt to tomato juice. Store in the refrigerator for a maximum of three days.
- Roasting. Spoiled tomatoes are often used for roasting, which can be used immediately or left in a glass container in the refrigerator for the winter. To ensure that the product does not spoil and lasts until cold weather, it must be prepared correctly. To do this, the frying should be simmered until the liquid evaporates. The end result should be vegetables in oil. Then the mass is put into jars and rolled up. After cooling, the containers are placed in the refrigerator.
- Omelette. It may seem strange to cook an omelet with tomatoes, but it is a very satisfying dish that is suitable for breakfast. To do this, you need to take some mushrooms, chop them and fry them in a frying pan. Peel the tomatoes, cut into cubes and add to the mushrooms. Simmer until the liquid evaporates, add salt and ground pepper. Next, add beaten eggs and cook like a regular omelette.
- If you don’t want to stand at the stove for a long time, you can grate the spoiled tomatoes and freeze them for the winter, and then gradually add them to soups and main courses.
As you can see, over-ripening and spoiling of tomatoes is not a reason to throw them away. If they are not suitable for canning, then they can be used to make a flavorful sauce, dressing or oil. They will make the taste of familiar dishes richer and brighter. It is worth remembering that if a tomato has spoiled by more than half, it is better to throw it away.
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How to quickly process tomatoes for the winter?
The fastest way to process tomatoes is to make tomato sauce from them. It will perfectly highlight the taste of a meat dish and add a slight sweetness to it.
Tomato sauce also lasts a long time in the freezer.
Peel the tomato and grate the vegetable on a fine grater. The mushy mass is flavored with finely chopped garlic and salt. Then the tomato sauce is simmered over low heat for no more than 15 minutes. It must be stirred periodically to avoid a bitter aftertaste.
As a result, in just half an hour the hostess will have an excellent and versatile sauce. It can be used for pizza, on salads or simply spread on toast. The sauce is poured into a convenient container and frozen for the winter.
Properly processed tomatoes will provide the housewife with several useful additions to dishes, including sauce, lecho, tomato oil, etc. In this case, you can use overripe, slightly spoiled and even green fruits that would be a pity to throw away.
Tomato oil
Very often, cooks add oil with herbs and garlic to prepared dishes, but you can also prepare tomato oil. For this you will need ripe and fleshy fruits; they give a more delicate taste and texture.
How to cook pasta:
- The tomatoes are baked in the oven for 10-15 seconds, the stem is removed and the skin is removed.
- Then place the tomatoes in a bowl, add butter, your favorite herbs with a rich aroma, a little salt, pepper to taste and beat with a blender.
- The finished mass is placed in a container.
- You can store it in the refrigerator, but no more than two weeks, or in the freezer.
Tomato oil can be spread on bread, added to side dishes and pureed soups.
