Honeyed Tomatoes

Last updated 2026-11-14 — Honeyed Tomatoes Introduction: Ingredient formula: 115 kg fresh tomatoes, 50 kg Sichuan white sugar, 1.5 kg salt, 1.5 kg lime. Production process: ingredient selection → blank making → salt curing → lime soaking → water rinsing → blank blanching → sugar feeding → pot boiling → product retrieval → sugar coating → finished product. Production method: 1. Ingredient selection: Select tomatoes that are intact in shape, uniformly sized, free of blemishes or pests, and at about 90% ripeness—preferably cinnabar tomatoes. 2. Blank making: Wash the tomatoes thoroughly with clean water, drain off surface water, then remove the stems. Use a specialized needle tool to evenly pierce the tomato skin, then use a special knife to make 8–12 cuts around the tomato to form the blank. 3. Salt curing: Add 1.5 kg of salt to the blanks and cure for 1–2 hours. Then gently squeeze by hand to remove juice and seeds. 4. Lime soaking: Dissolve 1.5 kg of lime in water to make a lime solution (the amount of water should be enough to fully submerge the blanks). Soak the blanks in the lime solution for about 6 hours until the color turns yellow and the flesh becomes slightly firm, then remove them. 5. Blank blanching: Boil the soaked blanks in boiling water for 3–4 minutes, then immediately transfer them to a clean water tank for further rinsing for about 12 hours, changing the water 2–3 times to completely remove the lime. 6. Sugar feeding: The sugar feeding is done in three stages. First, soak the tomato blanks in a 60% cold sugar solution for 24 hours. Then, along with the sugar solution, transfer them to a cooking pot and boil for about 5 minutes. Next, place them back in a tank to soak for 24–48 hours. Afterward, bring them to a boil again in the pot for about 5 minutes, add an appropriate amount of sugar solution, then return to the tank for another 24-hour soak before cooking again. 7. Pot boiling: Place the sugar-fed blanks along with the sugar solution in a pot and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula. When the sugar solution reaches 65% concentration and the tomato blanks become transparent, remove the pot from the heat and pour the contents into a tank to rest and infuse. 8. Product retrieval: After the tomato blanks have been infused for 7 days, cook them again over medium heat for about 1 hour. Once the blanks are fully saturated with sugar and appear transparent, remove them. Let them cool slightly, then coat them with sugar to complete the product. Product characteristics: Flat-round in shape, bright red and translucent in color, purely sweet with a slight acidity, rich in the authentic flavor of the fruit.