Deseeding tomatoes

[andrestorrubia]

I am trying to make tomato puree and tomato sauce using naturally ripened tomatos and I've learnt that the gel that surrounds tomato seeds is a big contributor to the umami tomato flavor (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2006/May/05050601.asp).

After peeling the tomatos, I puree them and get tomato water, tomato flesh and seeds (seeds are not broken by pureeing but their gel has blended in the puree).

I extract the water by pouring the puree into a cheesecloth bag and let it rest overnight; the water drops slowly and by the next day all left in the cheesecloth bag is a thick tomato puree of tomato flesh and seeds and very little water.

How do you filter out the seeds from the tomato puree?

[Jenni]

Do you absolutely have to deseed for your dish? I never deseed but that's just because it doesn't bother me and it has never seemed to bother anyone who has eaten my food either! Saves time, less waste and it tastes great!

I guess if you have to deseed though, you are just going to have to accept the loss. I wouldn't worry too much though as many chefs deseed and I've never heard anyone eat a dish and say "Damn, if only the chef hadn't deseeded those tomatoes it would have been umami-tastic!".

Incidentally I hope you are going to use that tomato water for something and not just throw it away? It wasn't clear from your post.

[Paul Bacino]

Medium Tamis sieve?

[ElsieD]

How about a food mill?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Rotary-pusher sieve?

[Jan Virtanen]

I like to use my old french food mill, gone are seeds and peel. Usually i dont bother, less waste too.

[dcarch]

Get a few sieves with different size mesh openings:

Use a mixer (not a blender) to turn tomato into puree.

Use a mesh with large openings to screen out the skin

Then use a finer mesh to screen out the seeds.

I have been doing this for many years.

dcarch

[andrestorrubia]

Jenni - It's a matter of preference, and I'd rather have sauces w/o seeds if the effort is reasonable; for homemade ketchup I think deseeding is a must. I love the tomato water; in fact it's one of the things I look forward when going for the whole tomato pureeing operation!

I tried once with the French mill but either I don't know how to use or my mill is just junk; very messy indeed.

Re: different-size meshes; is there any such thing as a French press with adjustable meshes?

[HowardLi]

Jenni - It's a matter of preference, and I'd rather have sauces w/o seeds if the effort is reasonable; for homemade ketchup I think deseeding is a must. I love the tomato water; in fact it's one of the things I look forward when going for the whole tomato pureeing operation!

I tried once with the French mill but either I don't know how to use or my mill is just junk; very messy indeed.

Re: different-size meshes; is there any such thing as a French press with adjustable meshes?

Absolutely.

http://www.amazon.com/RSVP-rotary-VEGETABLE-applesauce-ricer/dp/B000F7JXM4/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1316402796&sr=1-6

[StanSherman]

For small batches a food mill like Panaderia Canadiense posted or for larger batches a Roma food strainer.

http://www.ultimate-weight-products.com/H-ROMA-200P.html?gclid=CKijs7q0qasCFUeFQAod3T7wzA

We usually do 5-8 gallon batches. It's messy and best done outside but when we have to process a couple hundred pounds it works the best.

[Jan Virtanen]

Jenni - It's a matter of preference, and I'd rather have sauces w/o seeds if the effort is reasonable; for homemade ketchup I think deseeding is a must. I love the tomato water; in fact it's one of the things I look forward when going for the whole tomato pureeing operation!

I tried once with the French mill but either I don't know how to use or my mill is just junk; very messy indeed.

Re: different-size meshes; is there any such thing as a French press with adjustable meshes?

Yes, some of the mills do not have strong enough middle support (cheaper ones are with steel wire,

better are made with more solid piece) for the crank, hence more flex,

and it doenst give tight enough pressure. If that made any sense.