Infrared, a promissory ?dry? technology for peeling Roma-style tomatoes the eco-friendly way

Juicy, ripe, Roma-style tomatoes, stocked in the canned goods section of your local supermarket, are already peeled and ready for you to add to your favorite winter stew, soup, or casserole. Equally versatile, and used by restaurant chefs and home cooks alike, are canned stewed or diced tomatoes, perfect for flavorful Italian or Mexican dishes. Today, many processors remove the tight-fitting peels of these tasty tomatoes by using conventional approaches, such as steam-heating or jet sprays of heated solutions of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, followed by a tapwater rinse. Tomorrow, processors may opt for a new approach, developed and tested in studies led by Agricultural Research Service engineer Zhongli Pan. He?s based at the agency?s Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California. How Infrared Peeling Works The process relies on infrared energy, like that produced in infrared ovens found in upscale home kitchens, for instance. At the cannery, tomatoes traveling on conveyor belts would be heated for about 60 seconds with infrared light emitted from tubular units placed alongside the belts. The heat loosens the clingy peel and causes it to crack. That makes it easier for the peel to split when tomatoes enter their next destination?a vacuum chamber?and, after that, to be removed by ?pinch? rollers. Pan?s team has refined these steps during more than 5 years of tests involving about 6,000 commercially grown Roma-type (sometimes called ?plum?) tomatoes. Though scientists have been experimenting with infrared peeling of fruits and vegetables for several decades, Pan?s infrared tests apparently are the most extensive of their kind, to date, for environmentally sound peeling of tomatoes. Among the most important advantages of the new technique is that it is mostly waterless. That?s a special ?plus? for processors in sometimes-drought-stricken California, the state that produces the majority of the nation?s processed tomatoes. The technique could not only cut the cost of bringing water into the cannery, but may also reduce the expense of recycling or properly disposing of it. Disposal is a particular concern for processors who use sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide because the substances can boost the cost of treating factory wastewater. Other Advantages There?s more to like about the infrared ?dry-peeling? technology. The process helps reduce the wasteful ?overpeeling? that can occur when too many layers of the tomato are inadvertently removed with the peel. With infrared, overpeeling is less of a problem because, when used with precision, the technique primarily affects only the peel and a few thin layers beneath it. The full text is available below as link or pdf The picture show (1) Tomatoes before and after peeling using an infrared heating system developed by ARS scientists and their industry and university colleagues, (2) Cover page of Agricultural Research Magazine, January 2015 Source of text and pictures Agricultural Research Magazine, January 2015, vol 63 (1) http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan15/ ? Key wordsTomate?? ??? ?tomato?? ?tamatie?? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????????? ???????? ?tomaat?? ?pomodoro?? ?pomidor?? ??? ?????????? ?domates?? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ? ?