Chapters 8.33

8.33-Tomato Value Addition

Mikayla Robinson, University of Guelph, Canada

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Robinson,M. (2022) Tomato Value Addition,In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org

Introduction and Background Information

Tomatoes are grown worldwide on nearly 5 million hectares of land (Mubarok et al., 2015). The tomato plant was originally used by the Aztecs of Central America and they called it the xitomat; when the Spanish conquistadors landed around 700 A.D. they named it tomate (Friedman, 2002). The physical appearance of a tomato is extremely important to how well the tomato crop sells. If the tomatoes are not of high quality appearance and taste, the farmer will struggle to sell their product (Mubarok et al., 2015). What can a farmer do with the unsellable tomatoes? This is where creativity and entrepreneurship are needed to add value after harvest. When looking at the value additions to tomatoes presented, this chapter will try and allow for many recipes to be performed without the need for large machines or even electricity. The recipes will allow the farmer creativity with the spices added to the recipes based on their own personal taste and on where they live.

Tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables are an incredibly important part of a balanced diet. Tomatoes are important because they are, “an important source of dietary antioxidants due to their content in carotenoids, vitamins and phenolic compounds” (Aguiló-Aguayo et al., 2013). Thus, the following recipes and value additions should continue to offer the same benefits and help create a balanced diet.

Value Addition Ideas

1. Tomato Juice

In the Technical manual on small-scale processing of fruits and vegetables (Paltrinieri et al., 1997), the authors point out that tomato juice, “may be used to make cocktails and cook with foods when fresh tomatoes are no longer available on the market”. The use of tomato juice can be found within many different recipes or can be just drunk by itself. Tomato juice is culturally relevant across the world, and it is incredibly diverse in its uses for cooking. It can be made by smallholder farmers without electricity or modified to be made using more technologically advanced processes as well.

Supplies Needed:

• A fire or stove that you can heat the tomatoes up on;

• A sieve to strain out the juice;

• Saucepan for boiling the tomatoes in, knife for cutting them up, a stir stick or something to mash the tomatoes with;

• Canning jars or bottles to put the juice in after it has been made;

• Water to sanitize the jars/bottles with;

• Lemon juice or citric acid or acidity vinegar, sugar (optional);

Procedure: Around 53 pounds (a bushel) of tomatoes is needed in order to make 15 to 18 quarts of juice. The first step is to wash, remove stems and trim off the discoloured or bruised parts of the tomatoes. In order to stop juices from getting out of the tomato, cut the tomato into quarters and then throw it directly into the saucepan. Turn the heat on, and crush the tomatoes while they boil. Continue to add tomatoes until all the tomatoes have been used. Once all the tomatoes have been added, simmer for 5 minutes. Next, press the juice through a sieve to remove the tomato skin and seeds. Add lemon juice/citric acid/acidity vinegar to acidify the juice. Then take the steps necessary to seal the jars and package.

(source for the entire recipe and procedure: “Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products.”; see Helpful Links below)

Labour Needs: The labour needs for this product are relatively low. Ultimately, the only labour that would be needed would be that of the farmer who is producing the juice. Simply one person would be needed in order to produce this recipe.

Overhead Costs: The costs of this would ultimately be any of the required supplies. These include items like: jars or bottles and the ingredients for the acidification process.

Target Market: Tomato juice could easily be sold at a roadside stand, outside a household, in a town market, or at a tourist hotel. If close by, there is also the opportunity to sell the tomato juice (because of the long shelf life) to a grocery store or a general store.

Other Opportunities to Add Value to Tomato Juice: Some other opportunities to add value to the tomato juice would be to add labels to the jars/bottles; this would make it appear more professional. Also, there are many local recipes that require tomato juice. If interested, the farmer could produce some of these recipes, dependent on their local needs and sell these for even more money.

2. Hot Sauce

The great feature about this recipe is that one can change it to meet the desired level of spiciness. An entrepreneur can come up with different spices and different labels which gives their customers a choice as to which hot sauce they would buy. This approach would create an exciting way to also include local spices and traditional tastes within the hot sauce.

Supplies Needed:

• A fire or stove that you can heat the sauce up on;

• A sieve or food mill;

• Pot, knife, a stir stick;

• Canning jars or bottles to put the sauce in after it has been made;

• Water to sanitize the jars/bottles;

• Spice bag;

• Tomatoes, hot peppers, distilled white vinegar, salt, pickling spices.

Procedure: Make sure to wear plastic gloves and/or do not touch one’s face while handling or cutting the hot peppers. Thoroughly wash one’s hands before one touches their face. Mix all the ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until the tomatoes are soft, or for about 20 minutes. Then, press the mixture through a food mill. Put back in the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes. Pour into the jars/bottles and then seal them properly.

(source for all of the above information: “Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products”; see Helpful Links below)

Labour Needs: The only labour needed to make hot sauce is the need of one person to produce it. This does not require a lot of people in order to turn out a good yield.

Overhead Costs: The overhead costs that are needed to make hot sauce are the ingredients and the jars/bottles. The farmer already has a stove, pan and all the other ingredients.

Target Market: Hot sauce would be fantastic to sell on a roadside stand, outside a household, in a town market, or at a tourist hotel. If close by, there is also the opportunity to sell the hot sauce (because of the long shelf life) to either a grocery store or a general store. It would also be very appealing if there were multiple “levels” of hot sauce; this could cause people to try a couple or just give more opportunity for people to choose their level of spiciness.

Other Opportunities to Add Value to Hot Sauce: As mentioned above, the idea of creating a bunch of different hot sauces would help the hot sauce to gain popularity. Also, adding different labels to the hot sauces would give the hot sauce more value and a sense of legitimacy.

3. Salsa

This product might have a higher demand in places such as Latin America or in areas that cater to tourists. Salsa is also incredibly diverse in that the farmer can decide the level of spice as well as what vegetables he/she would like to put in with the tomatoes.

Supplies Needed:

• A fire or stove that one can heat the tomatoes up on;

• A sieve to strain out the juice;

• Large pot, knife, a stir stick;

• Canning jars to put the salsa in after it has been made;

• Water to sanitize the jars/bottles with;

• Onions, peppers, hot peppers (depending on how spicy you want the salsa), garlic, sugar, salt, cumin (or desired spices), cider vinegar.

Procedure: Peel the tomatoes and add them into the pot with the tomatoes, onions, peppers, hot peppers, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to keep the pot simmering. Boil gently for an hour. The sauce should be reduced by half and thickened a bit. Sterilize the jars. Put the sealed cans in a water bath, as per the source, fully sealing the cans through this method. When they are fully sealed one should hear the tops pop. Canned salsa lasts a year before going bad.

(Source for all the above information: “How to Make Simple Easy Homemade Canned Tomatoes.”; see Helpful Links below)

Labour Needs: Salsa requires no additional labourers other than the farmer. Making salsa can be done over a single stove top with the need for one person manning it and chopping the vegetables.

Overhead Costs: The overhead costs in this value adding method are the costs of jars and of other produce. If the farmer does not already produce the other vegetables him/herself, such as pep-pers, onions and hot peppers, then he will be required to purchase them. He will also be required to purchase the necessary spices.

Target Market: Salsa would be easy to sell on a roadside stand, outside a household, in a town market, or at a tourist hotel. If close by, there is also the opportunity to sell the salsa (because of the long shelf life) to either a grocery store or a general store.

Other Opportunities to Add Value to Salsa: An opportunity to add more value to the salsa would be to add a label to the product to make it look more official. Marketing as, “locally sourced” and “made by a local farmer” at hotels, super markets, and general stores could also add more value. Transportation and Safety Issues: Some of the issues in regards to transportation and safety are that transporting the glass jars could be difficult. It would be smart to package them in boxes with leaves or fabric in between them in order to keep the jars from smashing into one another. Some safety concerns are the heat of the fire and the hot liquid and jars. This concern could be avoided by using gloves or an apron of some sort of protection against the heat.

4. Sun-dried Tomatoes

Here are some resources on how to dry tomatoes (using only the sun and a net to keep insects away) and what can be done to sun-dried tomatoes to add even more value:

• https://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/sun-dried-tomatoes/ - This link explains how to dry tomatoes in the sun and how to know when they are fully finished drying.

• https://avocadopesto.com/vegan-tomato-soup-recipe - This recipe uses sun-dried tomatoes in soup. In this recipe locals can feel free to change up the spices and add local spices instead of those listed in order to make it more relevant to the market you are in.

• https://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/sun-dried-tomatoes-uses/ - this link gives a list of ways to “get the most of sun-dried tomatoes” including storing them in oil.

Conclusions

When examining adding value to tomatoes, it is important assess the local market and make sure that a processed product will be needed and enjoyed locally. It is important to use la-belling and taste that is localized to the culture surrounding the local region. The value additions suggested above are critical to not wasting the crops that farmers work so hard to produce, while adding additional profits and employment for smallholders.

References

1. “A Complete Guide To Home Canning.” National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 2015. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE03_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf

2. “Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products.” National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 2015. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE03_HomeCan_rev a. 0715.pdf

3. Aguiló-Aguayo, I., et al. Pulsed Light Effects on Surface Decontamination, Physical Qualities and Nutritional Composition of Tomato Fruit. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 86, 29–36. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.postharvbio.2013.06.011.

4. Friedman, M. Tomato Glycoalkaloids: Role in the Plant and in the Diet. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50 (21), 5751–5780. (2002) doi:10.1021/ jf020560c

5. “Home Canning: Jars and Lids.” National Center for Home Food Preservation | NCHFP Publications, Purdue, 2015, nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_01/sterile_jars.html.

6. Kimura, S., and N. Sinha. How to Grow Tomatoes. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, 2008, 12, protocol 5081, doi:10.1101/pdb.prot5081

7. Mubarok, S., et al. Potential Use of a Weak Ethylene Receptor Mutant, Sletr1-2, as Breeding Material To Extend Fruit Shelf Life of Tomato. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(36), 7995–8007. 2015, doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02742.

8. Noland, T., et al. “How to Make Simple Easy Homemade Canned Tomatoes.” Noshing With the Nolands, 30 Aug. 2018, noshingwiththenolands.com/simple-easy-homemade-canned- tomatoes/.

9. Paltrinieri, G., et al. “Technical manual on small-scale processing of fruits and vegetables. 1st ed.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Santiago, Chile. 1997. a. http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0209e/x0209e00.HTM

Chapters 8.33

Contents

8.33-Tomato Value Addition

Mikayla Robinson, University of Guelph, Canada

Introduction and Background Information

Value Addition Ideas

Conclusions

Other Useful Links

References

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Chapters 8.33

8.33-Tomato Value Addition

Mikayla Robinson, University of Guelph, Canada

Introduction and Background Information

Value Addition Ideas

Conclusions

Other Useful Links

References

Navigation menu

Search