Concasse
Concasse (French: concasser = to roughly chop) is synonymous in the professional kitchen with tomates concassees: tomatoes peeled, deseeded and cut into uniform pieces of 5-8mm. The technique appears in hundreds of preparations in Le Guide Culinaire by Auguste Escoffier (1903) and is standardised in CIA The Professional Chef (2011).
In brief
Concasse (French: concasser = to roughly chop) means in the professional kitchen: peeling tomatoes (after blanching), removing seeds and cutting into uniform rough pieces of 5-8mm. Full name: tomates concassees. Application: sauces, soups, garnish, bruschetta bases and as a flavour layer in meat and fish preparations. Definition per Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide Culinaire (Flammarion, 1903) and CIA The Professional Chef, 9th edition (Wiley, 2011).
- Peeling via blanching: score a cross in the bottom of the tomato, 30 seconds in boiling water, straight into the ice bath (shocking). The skin separates from the flesh through pectin degradation upon heating. After shocking, the skin peels away by hand without the flesh cooking. (Larousse Gastronomique, 2001)
- Deseeding is mandatory: tomato seeds contain a lot of moisture and a slightly acidic jelly. In sauces and garnishes this causes wateriness and colour loss. Remove seeds by quartering the tomato and scraping out the seed chambers with a spoon or the tip of the knife. (CIA The Professional Chef, 9th ed., Wiley, 2011)
- Cutting into 5-8mm: after peeling and deseeding, cut the flesh into uniform pieces of 5-8mm. This is not a fine brunoise but a coarse, recognisable piece size. For finer: tomate brunoise (3mm). For coarser: rough-cut. (Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide Culinaire, Flammarion, 1903)
- Variants: tomate mondee (peeled only, not deseeded), tomate concassee (peeled + deseeded + cut), tomate fondue (slowly stewed concasse in oil/butter). Jacques Pepin makes this distinction in La Technique (1976).
Tomates concassees: step by step
-
1
Score and blanch
Score a cross in the bottom of the tomato (not too deep: 0.5cm). Submerge for 30 seconds in boiling water. Exactly 30 seconds: any longer and the flesh begins to cook.
Use a spider strainer to lower the tomatoes into the water and transfer them quickly to the ice bath. Multiple tomatoes at once is possible, but ensure the water keeps boiling. -
2
Shock immediately in the ice bath
Transfer the tomatoes immediately to the ice bath (0-4°C). The cooking process stops. The skin separates from the flesh because the heat has degraded the pectin layer. Move the tomatoes through the ice bath for rapid cooling.
HACCP: from >60°C to <4°C within 2 hours is the EU 852/2004 requirement. The ice bath brings tomatoes back to <10°C within seconds: this is correct protocol. -
3
Peel by hand
Remove the cooled tomato from the ice bath. Pull the skin off with your fingers, starting at the scored cross. The skin releases completely. If the skin still clings: the blanching time was too short or the tomato was not ripe enough.
Roma tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes give better results than round tomatoes: firmer flesh, less moisture, more meat per tomato. -
4
Halve, deseed, cut
Halve the tomato at the equator. Scrape the seed chambers clean with a small spoon or the tip of the knife. Cut the flesh into uniform pieces of 5-8mm. Reserve the tomato juice and seeds for stock or soups.
Result: tomates concassees, ready for direct use in sauces, soups and garnish. -
5
Use immediately or store at <4°C
Tomates concassees deteriorate quickly due to cell moisture loss. Use immediately if possible. Storage: covered in a gastronorm at a maximum of 4°C, for a maximum of 24 hours. Label with date and time.
HACCP: cut tomatoes are a low-acid product (pH 4.0-4.4). Always store refrigerated and label per NVWA traceability requirements.
HACCP: blanching water and cross-contamination
Blanching water and cross-contamination
- Refresh blanching water: after 5-6 batches of tomatoes the blanching water contains elevated concentrations of organic material. Refresh after each batch or after a maximum of 5 batches. (CIA Professional Chef, 2011)
- Green cutting board for cutting tomates concassees. Never the same board as raw meat or fish. (NVWA, 2022)
- Store tomatoes at <4°C after cutting. The pH of tomatoes (4.0-4.4) slows but does not stop bacterial growth: refrigerated storage is mandatory. (EU Regulation 852/2004)
CIA Professional Chef (2011); NVWA (2022); EU Regulation 852/2004
Tomato nomenclature: from mondee to fondue
| Name | Preparation | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Tomate mondee | Peeled only (seeds not removed) | Garnish, served whole |
| Tomate concassee | Peeled + deseeded + 5-8mm pieces | Sauces, soups, garnish |
| Tomate en brunoise | Peeled + deseeded + 3mm brunoise | Fine sauces, vinaigrettes |
| Tomate fondue | Concassee slowly stewed in oil or butter | Sauce base, pasta, pizza |
| Tomate coulis | Pureed tomato, strained | Liquid sauces, soups |
Sources: Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide Culinaire (Flammarion, 1903); Jacques Pepin, La Technique (1976)
Food cost: seeds and juice to sauces
- Tomato juice and seeds to stock or soup: the seed chambers and expressed tomato juice serve a purpose. Together with tomato skins they form the base of tomato coulis or tomato stock. Simmer everything for 20 minutes, strain, and you have a free flavour base.
- Roma tomatoes vs. round tomatoes: beefsteak and Roma tomatoes yield 30-40% more usable flesh per kilo than round salad tomatoes due to their lower moisture content and fewer seeds. At large volumes of concasse preparations: Roma tomatoes are cheaper per gram of usable product, despite a higher purchase price per kilo.
- Seasonal purchasing: tomates concassees can be prepared in bulk during tomato season (August-October) and frozen for preservation. Blanching is a prerequisite for freezing: enzymatic inactivation before freezing per EU 852/2004.
Frequently asked questions
Why are tomatoes blanched for only 30 seconds?
Why do you remove the seeds for concasse?
What is the difference between concasse and tomate fondue?
Can I freeze concasse?
Which tomato variety is best for concasse?
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Food safety & HACCP
The HACCP guidelines, temperatures and storage advice on this page are based on Codex Alimentarius (WHO/FAO) as the global baseline standard and EU Regulation 852/2004. Local laws and regulations may differ. Always consult your national food safety authority for the applicable standards in your region:
- Netherlands: NVWA (nvwa.nl)
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- United Kingdom: FSA (food.gov.uk)
- United States: FDA (fda.gov) — FDA Food Code
- EU general: EU Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on food hygiene
- International: Codex Alimentarius CAC/RCP 1-1969 (revised 2020)
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- Auguste Escoffier — Le Guide Culinaire (Flammarion, 1903/2011) — tomates concassees in hundreds of preparations
- CIA (Culinary Institute of America) — The Professional Chef, 9th edition (Wiley, 2011) — standard concasse method
- Larousse Gastronomique (Larousse, 2001) — definition concasser and tomato preparations
- Jacques Pepin — La Technique (Pocket Books, 1976/2012) — tomate mondee and concasse
- NVWA — Colour code system and storage guidelines (2022)
- EU Regulation (EC) 852/2004 — HACCP requirements for storage and cooling
