It is the season of tomatoes and the market is flooded. Because of the glut, a significant amount of produce is going to waste. The prices are also incredibly low.
This is common in seasons immediately after the rains and has often led to post harvest losses for farmers.
Simple value addition skills can however turn eminent losses into a wealth of income for farmers willing to turn to the under-exploited world of tomato value addition.
There are two kinds of value addition; the home-scale processing and trade-oriented processing.
Home-based processing is easier and common during glut. The trade-oriented processing, on the other hand, needs to be consistent throughout the year and requires inspection from various government agencies.
Some products for value addition include:
Dried tomato slices
This is probably the easiest and cheapest way of preserving your tomatoes. In Kenya, most home-scale tomatoes are sun dried. There is however an alternative of oven drying or using a mechanical dehydrator.
Whichever method of drying one opts for, it is important to ensure the products are dried to the right moisture content level and at the right temperature. It is also important to slice the pieces at uniform thickness to foster uniformity when drying.
Properly dried tomatoes can be stored for up to three months. Framers are however able to push the storage period to six months by blanching, which involves boiling the tomatoes in hot water to destroy the enzymes.
Tomato powder
Tomato powder is becoming increasingly popular in the market. It is prepared by grinding the dried tomato slices and can conveniently be used by rehydrating in cold water.
Tomato powder is especially convenient for smallholder production where one may not be able to purchase a large number of the air tight storage containers.
Tomato juice
Though not popular in the local market, tomato juice is a wonderful beverage packed with vitamin C and the freshness of the tomato aroma.
Tomato juice is incredibly easy to process, as it takes less than four hours to complete and only requires citric acid, salt and sugar.
It is however important to use the right variety in preparing tomato juice, as seeded varieties can taint the texture of the nutritious drink.
It is also possible to add a little basil leave powder to give your juice an irresistible aroma.
Tomato paste
Tomato paste is one of the popular tomato products in the local market and one of the fastest selling, especially during lean periods.
The paste is prepared as a concentrate of the tomato juice, but it is important to ensure it has a solid base of 25 per cent and above to get the best quality.
Tomato paste can be stored for years when well preserved, and is much more convenient to use than the dried slices or powder.
Not all tomatoes can be turned into quality value addition though. It is important to pick your tomatoes carefully and set aside only the right quality for processing.
Bruised and diseased products, for instance, must not be used in processing. It is also important to pick well ripened fruits as both unripe and overripe tomatoes compromise the quality of the product in a big way.
In addition, ensure the selected vegetables are picked early in the morning and must not be left to scorch in the sun so as to preserve the quality of the end products.
Most importantly, the highest level of hygiene must be observed to prevent any case of contamination.
This article was first published in the ‘Smart Harvest’ feature of the Standard on Saturday edition of 21st April 2018.
