Tomato: Why This Wonder Plant Needs To Be In Most Recipes

The Benefits of Tomato

Tomatoes are amongst the few vegetables that can be consumed both raw and cooked, and they have health benefits in both forms. In fact, when consumed in raw form they form many more benefits with the active compounds and nutrients present in them. Here is why you should consider making tomato a staple in your cooking:

• Tomatoes contain a wide variety of nutrients, from a range of complex vitamins to protein, and from potassium to soluble food fibre and iron. They contain trace amounts of fat, sugar and sodium.
• The most important substance in tomatoes is lycopene, which is retained even in cooked tomato. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and cancer-fighting substance. Many doctors around the world prescribe a raw tomato diet for cancer patients, as also those suffering from inflammation, digestive issues and liver ailments.
• The plant also contains compounds of Zeaxanthin and flavonoids. Both counteract the action of free radicals in the body and prevent oxidative processes.
• Tomatoes contain pure calcium, which is essential for strong teeth and bones.
• The pure protein content of tomatoes helps in building muscle. You can use this property in preparing breakfast and/or pre-workout smoothies for gym rats.
• The presence of folic acid, Vitamin A, thiamine and niacin in tomatoes helps to safeguard eye and heart health.
• When preparing recipes for diabetics, you can freely use tomatoes since the chromium in them is excellent for keeping blood sugar levels down.
• When cooked, tomatoes retain most of their nutrients so you can safely puree, paste or make ketchup out of them to get their health benefits.

How to use tomatoes in professional cooking

As a busy chef, you hardly have the time to make or oversee the making of large batches of tomato purees and pastes. In the absence of time – and orders from various tables constantly piling up! – your best bet is to use ready tomato products. Leading brands in the cooking powders and liquids space offer premium products that chefs in India and around the world use in crafting delicious food every single day.

• It is one thing to dice and chop tomatoes for a signature salad dish, but quite another to make an entire vat of paste or puree every single day to use in your popular gravy and sauce dishes. Ready tomato products like powders, sauces, purees and pastes cut down cooking time and help you get the same taste with every dish you send out from the kitchen. Both you and your patrons win!
• The beauty of using ready tomato products, such as the

Kissan tomato ketchup, is that you save on time and effort in the kitchen. Imagine how much more cooking time you would add if you were to make fresh purees or ketchups every time, especially when you needed the tomato component merely to add some tartness to the dish. If you want a mix of sweetness and sourness to the dish, just add a dash of Kissan tomato ketchup in the gravy or sauce and get on with the rest of the recipe quickly.

• Since the product is already in liquid form, it blends quickly without causing lumps or separating from the rest of the dish.
• Brands ensure that the product has a long shelf life and can be stored easily in your kitchen freezer after use. The products normally come in sturdy boxes or pouches that do not break.