The Salad Spinner Trick To Remove Seeds From Canned Tomatoes
There are many reasons you may not want seeds in your tomatoes. For starters, seeds are in the most moisture-heavy part of the tomato — the gel-like pulp that spills out when you slice into it. It's wise to remove the seeds if you're making a tomato-based recipe, like a salad, that would work better and retain more structure with reduced moisture. In those cases, going without the seeds can make for a less soggy salad.
Whether your motivation for ditching the seeds is to reduce moisture or simply to avoid getting those pesky seeds stuck in your teeth, it's easy enough to scoop seeds right out of a fresh tomato. But when it comes to canned tomatoes, it can be a whole lot harder — and not to mention a whole lot messier — to remove the seeds. Luckily, there is a simple hack that removes those seeds instantly. You just need to pop the tomatoes into your salad spinner.
First strain, then spin
As most home cooks know, a salad spinner is a kitchen tool designed to wash and dry salad greens, herbs, and other vegetables. So it may seem counterintuitive to throw canned tomatoes into it — but this trick works. Here's how to do it.
First, you'll want to drain the excess juice from the tomato can using a strainer. You can save this juice if you want to incorporate it into a recipe. Next, put the drained tomatoes into the colander of the salad spinner. Tear them open using your hands to release more juices and the seeds. Now, go ahead and give it a whirl. A few spins should get all the seeds out of the tomatoes and into the outside bowl of the spinner. Strain the juice and toss out the seeds. The tomatoes will now be seed-free, and you'll have plenty of juice left over for a sauce.
Will it work on fresh tomatoes?
This trick doesn't work as well for fresh tomatoes. When the fruit is fresh, it's much easier to simply scoop out the seeds and pulp with a paring knife or spoons. But this hasn't stopped people from throwing chopped fresh tomatoes into a salad spinner to try it out for themselves.
When fresh, quartered tomatoes are tossed into the spinner, the results are a bit of a "womp womp." The spinner successfully removes some seeds from fresh tomatoes, but not all of them. This is because canned tomatoes are softer and contain far more moisture. When the salad spinner uses centrifugal force to remove that moisture, it takes the seeds along with it.
If you're making a sauce with your tomatoes, removing the seeds is an especially wise move. Tomato seeds can affect a sauce's flavor — they can impart a slight bitterness to the dish and can detract from its consistency. So, the next time you're prepping a creamy tomato soup or homemade red sauce using canned tomatoes, get rid of the seeds by using this simple move.