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      Tomato Tips

      Tomatoes in all forms are indispensable in the Ghanaian kitchen. Many of the recipes call for tomatoes, and generally one can use fresh or canned tomatoes interchangeably. In Ghana one usually adds whole fresh tomatoes to the soup broth to soften them while cooking the soup, then they are removed, the skins slipped off, and then ground in an asanka or electric blender. Some people prefer to deseed the tomatoes, others do not. When slicing or chopping tomatoes into a stew, often the peelings are left on, but they may be omitted as well.

      Certainly, sun-ripened tomatoes fresh off the vine are wonderful, but they are not always available. My second choice would generally be canned plum tomatoes, pureed in a blender. (I like to remove the seeds by straining pureed tomatoes through a strainer, but that is a personal preference.) Tomato sauce can be used in a pinch, but it will add other flavors besides the tomato, and is sometimes sweetened, something Ghanaians would never do. Note that canned already-pureed tomatoes tend to be thicker than when pureeing canned tomatoes oneself. I find them too sweet so prefer to puree them personally.

      And finally a word about tomato paste—Ghanaians love tomato paste. In 2006 it was reported that Ghana was the world’s second largest importer of tomato paste after Germany. Tomato paste finds its way into many soups and sauces and stews. It is easy to buy small tins of it any season of the year, when fresh tomatoes may not be available. Also, it is highly concentrated, and only takes a fraction of the amount of fresh tomatoes. It can flavor and thicken soups and stews without making them watery. In a pinch, tomato paste may be thinned with water to replace fresh or canned tomatoes. In most of the recipes, it is a personal choice which to use.

      On a health note, tomato paste is said to be a great source of lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant optimally helpful when eaten during a meal that contains a little fat. According to the Heinz Institute of Nutritional Sciences one serving of raw tomato provides 3.7 mg of lycopene, whereas a serving of tomato paste provides 13.8 mg. Another reason to love it. Oh, and it also adds that umami flavor.

      To peel/deseed/puree fresh tomatoes:

      To peel: Bring enough water to cover the tomatoes to a boil in a small saucepan. Take it off the heat and put the tomatoes into the hot water and let sit until their skins begin to split, about 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and plunge them into cold water to loosen the skins. Peel off the loose skin.

      To deseed: Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters. Place a strainer over a bowl and hold the tomato pieces over the strainer while using your fingers to remove the seeds. The juice will be saved in the bowl.

      To puree: After peeling and removing the seeds, puree the tomatoes using an electric blender, and add back in the juices lost in seeding.

      APPROXIMATE YIELDS WHEN USING FRESH TOMATOES (not including plum tomatoes, which have more pulp). This is not an exact science and actual amounts may vary:

      1 medium tomato (approximately 4 ounces) yields about:

      cored, sliced or chopped: ¾ cup

      blended (with peel and seeds): ⅔ cup

      peeled/seeded/chopped: ½ cup + 2 to 3 teaspoons juice

      peeled/seeded/blended: ⅓ cup

      grated (peel and core discarded): ½ cup

      1 large tomato (approximately 7 ounces) yields about:

      cored, sliced or chopped: 1⅓ cups

      blended (with peel and seeds): 1 cup

      peeled/seeded/chopped: ⅔ cup + 2 tablespoons juice

      peeled/seeded/blended: almost ⅔ cup

      grated (peel and core discarded): ¾ cup