Here, you'll find a list of ways to utilize the tomato as a base for your salsas, in addition to a few helpful cooking tips. In its fresh form, the tomato adds texture to salsa and provides a cooling component to counter the chile's fire and onion's punch. When preparing fresh salsa, avoid purchasing beefsteak tomatoes, which, though large, tend to be somewhat mealy and lacking the moisture found in smaller tomatoes. Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes, as doing so robs them of their flavor. Instead, store tomatoes at room temperature away from direct sunlight until fully ripened to maximize their sugar and acid content.
Some cooks prefer seeding fresh tomatoes destined for the salsa bowl.
Doing so, however, means losing some flavor and vitamin C, both of which are at their highest concentrations in the gel-like substance containing the seeds. Given the high quality available today, it is often advisable to use canned tomatoes as a base for salsas during the long months when fresh tomatoes are not at their peak. Canned tomatoes are almost always peeled and come in several forms, including whole, chopped, diced, crushed, and stewed. All forms can be successfully transformed into a base for salsa, although choosing whole, peeled tomatoes allows you to control the amount of tomato juice added to your recipe. Remove the crust from a slice of fresh white bread and process the bread in a blender until very finely ground.