Homemade "Canned" Diced Tomatoes

Recently, I've been playing with a lot of recipes that call for canned diced tomatoes. But, the highly acidic fruit, sitting in the can, freaks me out a little. Plus, I always find myself staring at articles about BPA and squinting. (For some reason, it makes me squint. This can be substituted for cringing.) And since Canada declared it a toxic substance in 2010 and banned it from baby bottles, as did the EU, I just don't really enjoy playing with the stuff. Therefore, I decided to make my own canned diced tomatoes.

The "thing" about canned tomatoes is that they are so convenient. You just open the can and dump them into whatever it is that needs them. So, this recipe I created is extremely simple. There's no added spice, little chopping, and little cooking time. Plus, it can be done in the same pan you will be using for a lot of the recipes that call for canned tomatoes (ONE LESS PAN TO CLEAN, YEEHAW!)

I don't know how this recipe compares to a regular canned diced tomato recipe but it has worked so far, and tastes the same, I think, and I want to share it.


Homemade "Canned" Diced Tomatoes
(Makes 1-15oz can)

• 1 lb heirloom tomatoes

Bring a high-sided sauté pan or skillet of water to boil.

Add the tomatoes and let boil for 1 minute.*
Drain the water and drop the tomatoes in a bowl of ice water.

Once the tomatoes have cooled to touch, place them on a cutting board and pull their skin off (it should peel off very easily).

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove their core.
Dice to preferred size.

Uh oh...I used a different pan. Heh.

In the same pan, add the diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer on med-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Do whatever the heck you need to do with them!

*Cool fact- if you need crushed instead of diced, you can cut the tomatoes in half and place the cut side on a grater. Grate down to the skin and you are left with peeled, crushed tomatoes! NO BOILING=1 LESS STEP!