Technique: Peeling Tomatoes
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There are a number of ways to peel tomatoes, which range from simply cutting it off with a knife or vegetable peeler, to blanching them in hot water. The hot water technique is the easiest and favored by most most chefs and home cooks. This is especially true if you need to peel a large quantity to make a sauce or other tomato based dish.
To peel using hot water, heat water in a large pot to the boiling point. Cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato with a paring knife, then carefully drop each tomato in the boiling water. Leave it for 3-5 minutes and then remove either with a slotted spoon or by pouring the entire contents of the pot with all the tomatoes into a colander.
Run the hot tomatoes under cool water or plunge in ice water to keep them from cooking any further. Ideally you want the interior of the tomato to stay cool, after heating the skin and just a bit of the flesh under it. When done properly, the entire skin will easily slide off of the tomato, no knife should be needed.
