Do you like seeds in your jam?
I’ve only met one person who reported liking seeds in her jam. In fact she said “the more the better”. But most people seem to prefer seedless jam. The same is true for tomato sauce. No seeds.
How do you remove all those tiny seeds?
Blackberries, raspberries and tomatoes all have bothersome seeds. I have two different methods for removing seeds. The choice of which to use depends on the final product.
For blackberry or raspberry jam, I use a Juice Mate.
This hand cranked strainer has a spiral inside that pushes the berries through and squeezes it against a fine mesh strainer. It will remove almost all seeds of these berries. The resulting pulp and juice makes a fine seedless jam.
The Juice Mate also works wonders for tomato juice. After washing, coring and quartering the tomatoes, the Juice Mate will remove seeds and skin.
One downside to this system is the cleanup, but here’s a tip: take the screen outside and use the garden hose for the first rinse. The power of the hose blasts out the stuck seeds allowing for an easier wash back in the house.
What about tomato sauce?
When making tomato sauce, I want the meaty sections of the tomato intact and an occasional seed is not as much of a concern. After removing the skin, I cut the tomatoes in half and drag out as much of the seed section as possible with a finger. Sometimes with juicier tomatoes simply squeezing the tomato half does the trick.
If you have any tricks or tips for removing seeds, we would love to hear about it. Send us a message through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or an old-fashioned email.
