Do you need to peel tomatoes for sauce?

Tomato skins are not bad. They are just a different texture from the flesh, and in some sauces that texture gets in the way. The question is always about the finished dish: will the skins melt in, or will they float around like bits of cellophane?

When peeling is worth it

• Smooth, silky sauces that simmer for a long time. The skins separate from the flesh and curl up into tough little rolls. Nothing dangerous, just distracting.
• Delicate dishes where texture matters a lot, such as a sauce for fresh egg pasta or a gentle tomato and butter sauce.
• Bigger, thicker-skinned tomatoes, like late-season beefsteaks, whose skins are tougher.
• Preserving, where many people peel for a smoother, more even jar.

When you can skip it

• Quick pan sauces made with cherry or small tomatoes. Their skins are thin and blister nicely, and they hold the juice in.
• Roasted tomatoes, where the skins wrinkle and caramelise, and are part of the pleasure.
• Raw sauces, where you want the tomatoes to keep their shape. See our page on raw tomato pasta sauce.
• Anything you will blend or pass through a food mill. A mill catches the skins (and seeds) for you, which is the laziest and best way to make a smooth sauce from a big batch.
• Rustic sauces where a few bits of skin are simply part of the character.

The quick scald

This is the classic way, and it takes very little effort once the water is boiling.

1. Score. Cut a shallow cross in the base of each tomato, just through the skin. You can cut out the stalk end at the same time.
2. Scald. Lower the tomatoes into a pan of boiling water, a few at a time. Watch the cross: once the skin starts to curl back at the cuts, they are ready. Ripe tomatoes need only moments; firmer ones a little longer.
3. Cool. Lift them out into a bowl of cold water so they stop cooking and are comfortable to handle.
4. Slip. Pull the skin away from the cross. It should come off in big, easy pieces.

If the skins refuse to budge, they needed a little longer in the water. If the flesh starts to go soft and woolly, they had too long. Our page on what blanching does explains the principle.

Other ways to peel

• Over a gas flame. Hold a tomato on a fork over the flame, turning, until the skin blisters and splits. Good for one or two.
• Grating. Halve the tomato and grate the cut side on a box grater; the skin stays in your hand. This gives you a fresh pulp in seconds, perfect for quick sauces and for spreading on toast.
• Roast first. Roast halved tomatoes until the skins wrinkle, then pull them off before blending.

And the seeds?

Some cooks seed tomatoes too, mostly for a drier, smoother sauce. We usually leave them in: the jelly around the seeds carries a lot of flavour. If the sauce is watery, simmering longer does the job. If seeds bother you, a food mill takes care of them.

Tins are already peeled

Whole peeled tinned tomatoes have done this work for you, which is one reason they are so useful for sauces. Our guide to tinned versus fresh tomatoes covers when we reach for each.