I learnt to cook out of tins. I don’t mean as a student; I mean when I was growing up we ate out of tins, a lot. One of the staples in the cupboard was tinned tomatoes. They were used for everything. Even when we had a cooked breakfast it would come with tinned tommies.
I don’t know if tomatoes were scarce in Manchester in the 70s, just a seasonal treat or wether we preferred it that way. All I know is that the fresh tomato was rarely seen in our house.
What’s taught is whats known and as an adult I thought tinned tomatoes were an essential ingredient in bolognese, sauces and stews. Consequently the thought of giving up tinned tomatoes as part of our plastic boycott, (Tin cans of food – they are nearly all plastic lined), was scary. But I needn’t have worried.
I can of course buy Passata which is posh tinned tomatoes in a glass bottle . But those bottle have they will have plastic lined metal lids and are expensive so better and easier to use fresh tomatoes.
Better still I can make my own tomato base - useful if you have a lot of tomatoes and you need to something with them….. or I can use them uncooked. Who knew.
Pre-Cooked
Heres how
Get a lot of tomatoes. Go buy a big box full. Read up about plastic free veggies here.
Or grow some.
Wash them and pack them in a pot.
You can do them whole or half and cut the hearts out first. Cover them with a lid
Bake them in the oven or on the the top of the stove till they go squishy.
Sqeeze in innards out, pull the peel off.
freeze till needed
Nice additions – herbs when baking and or a dollop of tomato puree when freezing.
NB I reuse my PLA plastic compostable pots as freezer pots. So far only the lids have failed me.
Use Fresh As Is
Now while this is a good and useful thing to do, handy to have in and a great way to store a glut, it is not always necessary. Yes, since then I have found that you can add fresh tomatoes to whatever it is your cooking!
I know! This is how I do it
Cut them in half then remove the white bit out
Steam them on top of the frying veg
When the are cooked it is easy to peel the skins off.
Then you can mash them down to make sauce.
Just as good as tinned – honest.
More
Find more recipes in the plastic free cookbook.
Find plastic free fruit and veg here.
N.B.
lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
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LOL….. I know. Did the same for years… just never thought about it or thought it was really hard to cook them or something…
We managed to grow more tomatoes than we could eat last year but for some reason still bought in tins so must remember to make some freezer space in preparation this summer. Found cherry tomatoes dried very well so we kept some that way and add a handful into sauces ( when I remember). This kind of thing looks perfect for making in my Wonderbag which I love but am still working out how to get best use from.
Actually they seem to taste pretty much the same but they seem to feel more satisfying!? It is strange as you get older and start to kind of separate into what is really you and what is assumed. Not wrong as such but just not questioned. Interesting.
I was reflecting on this very thing last night - about how, what we grow up with, we more often than not take on board as gospel. Love your new found tomato regime! i can imagine some dishes taste much better made with fresh rather than tinned .