With almost everything, one wonders how to substitute something canned for something fresh. But with tomatoes, the question is reversed; almost every recipe I’ve seen in a cookbook or online that deals with tomatoes will almost always referred to the canned version. And since tomato product cans always use an epoxy lining that contains BPA, that may bother one.
It took a while to find this advice, thus I’m blogging it for the future. I got it from cookingclub.com, almost randomly:
Can fresh diced tomatoes be substituted for canned ones?
Yes. To substitute fresh diced tomatoes for a 14.5-ounce can of undrained diced tomatoes, use approximately 1 1/4 cups of diced fresh tomatoes and 1 cup of liquid. If your recipe calls for a 28-ounce can of undrained diced tomatoes, use about 2 1/2 cups of diced fresh tomatoes and 1 cup of liquid. Use any liquid that seems appropriate for your recipe, such as water, broth or tomato juice.
And now I think I can make some stew and curry in peace.
I wrote quite a bit about BPA just now, and decided to put it up as its own page rather than a post.
So, as I contemplate BPA items in my kitchen, it’s both depressing and uplifting, because now I can move stuff out of cabinets and shop with an excuse.
Here’s BPA stuff unfortunately stocked in my kitchen.
- Rubbermaid™ Premier
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Sigh. I bought two 20-piece sets because I liked the “almost glass, less breakable” quality of polycarbonate.
Replacing with: Lock&Lock™. I’ve decided that “watertight” is much more important than “doesn’t stain with tomatoes.”
Will use for: around the house, putting non-food items in. Gods know that I can always find a use for containers.
- Polycarbonate “Glass” Ware
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Two brands, and most of my tumblers are this.
Replacing with: actual glassware. This is actually a good step up even without BPA. I kind of bought them on clearance as an automatic reaction to living on the poverty line for a long, long time.
Will use for: I don’t know, what use are tumblers that won’t hold drinkable liquids when you aren’t a painter?
- Melamine Ware
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Not really related to BPA, but it’s kind of hard to use dishes that can’t be heated in a microwave or oven, and most of them can’t be washed in a dishwasher. Also an automatic I-lived-in-poverty buy.
Replacing with: CorningWare™ and Pyrex™. Like moving to glass tumblers, also a really good step up in general.
Will use for: I really don’t know… probably the bowls can hold wrapped candy, but I don’t eat candy (not because of dieting, because it makes me ill).
- Soda
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It kind of gives me a lot of gas anyways, but ye gods, I am sad.
Replacing with: plastic bottles (they aren’t polycarbonate) and tea.
Will use for: um.
- Canned Food
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All of mine have BPA in the lining.
Replacing with: the few brands that don’t have BPA, which means I won’t be easily making tomato-anything anytime soon, unless it’s from fresh tomatoes—an interesting challenge!
Will use for: I don’t really feel like donating these. So. Um.
- Oster™ 5712 Food Steamer
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I’m going to use the steaming pans that come with my Zojirushi™ non-fuzzy-logic rice cookers. I still get the automatic capability with some warming, though I don’t get timing—unless I find a kitchen timer that will turn off an electrical appliance after a period of time.
Some Sanyo™ rice cookers come with double-tier steaming equipment, which is an interesting possibility if one of the Zojirushi™ guys die a painful death, which won’t be for another five years or so, at least.
Will use for: Um.
- Cuisinart™ Food Processor
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Actually, I’ve always hated this one even before all the BPA stuff starting in 2008. I never use hot food in it, so don’t really care in that way.
This was kind of a rebound-from-poverty buy, in that I’d always heard that Cuisinart™ was awesome and I thought I’d of course fall in love with it, but mostly any food processing with it has been angry and not at all hot food processing.
I figure I got a crappy model, is all, really.
Replacing with: Hamilton Beach™ 70670 Chef Prep
Will use for: Um. A very dangerous doorstop, possibly.
- Braun™ Mutliquick Immersion Blender
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Actually, I think I’ll just use the immersion blender (no BPA itself) and not the clear plastic container bits (BPA, baby). I haven’t used the choppers much.
The only other immersion blender without BPA in its clear plastic containers is the Bosch Mixxo, which uses styrene instead.
Styrene is a carcinogen.
Do not want.
