- Tomatoes with the calyx, the green part where the stalk was attached, will keep longer.
- Vine-ripened or truss tomatoes can be expected to taste better than others, but not always – a sniff for that tomatoey scent is the best guide.
- Don’t keep tomatoes in the fridge or they will become spongy and the flavour dulls. Take them out of the bag you bought them in and keep them in a bowl (stalk-side down if you are very particular). It follows that it’s best not to buy too many tomatoes at a time unless you are about to make a sauce or soup.
- Unripe tomatoes will ripen at home. Put them on a shelf or window sill but out of direct sunlight.
- Some authoritative cooks say cooked tomato pips have a bitter taste and to either scoop them out before cooking or strain them out afterwards. Other equally good cooks make no mention of this. Certainly, it is best not to blend or otherwise break up cooked pips.
- Skins are fine on raw tomatoes but if you want to peel them for cooking and so avoid little scrolls of skin through the dish, first cut a little cross on the bottom with a sharp knife, then either pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 30 seconds, or put them into a pot of boiling water for the same time. The skin will split and lift at the cut and come off easily.
- Egg tomatoes, such as Roma, are recommended for making sauces, for drying or making tarts because they have fewer seeds and a higher ratio of flesh to juice. However do not turn your nose up at any full-flavoured, ripe tomato that is to hand, whatever its size or shape.
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