‘Quick to cook’ tomato sheets to benefit buyers & farmers

TIRUCHY: As a boon to the farmers, the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics of Jamal Mohamed College has developed tomato sheets that would prevent the tomatoes from going to waste when the prices decline.

In addition, the sheets, a value-added product that has been made out of pulp can be stored at least for three months and used for regular cooking after being soaked in lukewarm water.

A Sangeetha, a professor who led the research noted that there were around 2,000 entries for the Tomato Grand Challenge Competition organised by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. “Out of 2,000 entries across the country, only 23 have been shortlisted for the innovative ideas and three including our products were selected from Tamil Nadu”, said Sangeetha after launching the product on Thursday.

The Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) is a hackathon that aims to create innovative ideas to make tomatoes more affordable and available for consumers. “When consumers are largely affected during the fluctuations of tomato prices in the market, farmers struggle to get reasonable prices for their produce and this concept would help both the consumers as well as the farmers as they can rely on the reasonable pricing”, she said.

The tomato sheets are made from ripened tomatoes that undergo a dehydration process, resulting in flexible and easily rehydratable sheets. These sheets can be made into homemade tomato paste, ketchup, or salsa. “These sheets offer extended shelf life without the need for refrigeration. They are lightweight, easy to store, and can be rehydrated quickly. This is an eco-friendly product”, Sangeetha said.