Reduce the watering from tomatoes in a dish or sauce

Question

There are many questions asking on how to reduce the watering from (fresh) tomatoes in a dish or a sauce (most likely baked):

• How do I prevent tomato making quiche soggy (mentioned in comments by SAJ14SAJ)
• How to avoid getting the pizza all watery?
• Can I turn my marinara sauce recipe into "pizza sauce"?
• how to improve the consistency of my pizza sauce
• How to thicken marinara sauce?
• My tomato sauce is very watery
• etc.

There are several ways to do that, but what are the pros and cons of each technique?

Answer 1

Bake as you would to create a sun dried tomato but don't put it in olive oil.

Cut in half and spoon or squeeze out the pulp.

Look up recipes for sun dried tomatoes but maybe reduce the time to not remove as much moisture.

Answer 2

Here's another question where I mention salting, which doesn't seem to be included in the links you've mentioned Keeping scrambled eggs with tomatoes from being too watery. I like salting in any application where you want to keep that "fresh" flavor and texture but want less water. Of course it removes juice, but isn't that the point?

EDIT: So the "pros" of salting would primarily be the maximum reduction of moisture without losing the flavor and texture of fresh, raw tomatoes (if that's what you'd like to accomplish). The cons would be the loss of juice (although I find it hard to think of that being a "con" when reduction of moisture is a goal) and of course excessive saltiness if that particular issue is troublesome. The use of kosher or other coarse salt instead of table salt ameliorates that particular issue to a point, coarse salt can be more easily brushed off than table salt. .

Answer 3

Simmering

Let tomatoes simmer slowly for hours.

Pros: probably the tastiest solution.

Cons: time consuming, energy (gas/power) consuming, loss of "fresh" tomato flavor, if you want that.

Adding thickener

Add flour/bread/carrots/potatoes/whatever to add consistency.

Pros: quick and easy.

Cons: may change the flavour. May require heating to near-boil to activate the starch.

Seeding

Remove seeds and gel/pulp with fingers or a spoon.

Pros: quick, and removes seeds, which may give a bitter taste.

Cons: removes pulp (which gives most of the 'umami' flavor) and juice.

Filtering

Use a strainer to remove the watery part.

Pros: ?

Cons: removes part of the juice.

Draining

Drain (without seeding) tomatoes before to bake them - a (very) light salting helps to draw out excess liquid.

Pros: Removing liquid before allows for less cooking time and preservation of fresh tomato flavor

Cons: waiting time, and removes part of the juice.

Roasting

Halve and place on a sheet pan, then bake until sufficiently dewatered for your purposes. May have to leave oven door cracked open.

Pros : Easy. Skins are easy to peel after roasting. Adds some caramel/roasted flavors where the sugars burned.

Cons : Not quick. Not good if you want skins on. Loses the 'fresh tomato' flavor.

Dehydrating

Bake as you would to create a sun dried tomato (at low heat) but don't put it in olive oil. Can reduce the time to not remove as much moisture.

Pros : Easy.

Cons : Very slow (we're talking most of the day slow). Loss of the fresh tomato flavor.

Tomato Selection

Use a plum tomato, or other variant that has a higher flesh to gel ratio.

Pros : Extremely easy (if you can get them at your market)

Cons : Often have less flavor than beefsteak, heirloom and other varieties (but may not be noticeable if you're buying from a grocery store)