Question 1

How much sugar does tomato contribute to a gelato mix?

Accepted Answer

Very little. Raw tomato carries only about 2.6 g of sugar per 100 g (mostly glucose and fructose, roughly equal), so almost all of the recipe's sugar must come from added sucrose, dextrose or inverted sugar.

Question 2

What is tomato's PAC and POD?

Accepted Answer

Per 100 g of tomato the anti-freezing power (PAC) is about 5 and the sweetening power (POD) about 3.2, both derived from its small glucose-plus-fructose content. These values are low, so tomato barely lowers the freezing point on its own.

Question 3

Why does tomato sorbet freeze so hard?

Accepted Answer

Tomato is about 94-95% water with very few solids or sugars, so it carries a large free-water load. Without enough added sugar and stabilizer to bind that water and depress the freezing point, the sorbet turns icy and scoops hard.

Question 4

Is tomato treated as a fruit or a vegetable in balancing?

Accepted Answer

For balancing it behaves like a watery, low-sugar fruit: high water, minimal fat, near-zero milk solids, and modest sugars. Botanically it is a fruit, though it is culinarily used as a vegetable.

Question 5

Does tomato add fat or milk solids?

Accepted Answer

No. Tomato has only about 0.2 g fat per 100 g and no milk solids (MSNG = 0), so it contributes essentially nothing to the fat or non-fat milk solids of the mix; body must come from other ingredients.

Parameter	Value	What it means
Total Solids	5.5%	Everything that isn't water — the backbone of body and scoopability.
Water	94.5%	Free water that will freeze; drives ice-crystal size.
Sugars	2.6%	Total sugars, the source of sweetness and freezing-point depression.
Fat	0.2%	Carries flavor and gives a rounder, warmer mouthfeel.
MSNF	0%	Milk solids-non-fat: proteins and lactose that stabilize structure.
Protein	0.9%	Binds water and helps whip in air.
POD (sweetening power)	3.2	Relative sweetness vs sucrose = 100.
PAC (anti-freezing power)	5	Freezing-point depression vs sucrose = 100 — controls how soft it scoops.

Tomato in gelato

Balancing parameters

Balance tomato in a real recipe

How to use it in gelato

Origin & background

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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