Freezing tomatoes (?)

[Animal_lover]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if it's ok to put fresh tomatoes to the freezer. I tried once many years ago, but ended up throwing them away as they became too squishy. Are they good for sauces or other uses?

What is your most favorite technique to preserve them? And how to make sure the level of nutrients and vitamins remains as high as possible? I would like to avoid buying tomatoes as much as possible because in supermarkets they are often absolutely flavorless, and possibly full of pesticides and fertilizers.

[applestar]

I don’t think there is any way to save them for fresh eating, you just have to enjoy them while they are available. (or try growing them indoors during the winter like me).

But I do freeze dead-ripe tomatoes directly — I just wash and remove stem end (use sharp knife and cut out in a cone). Remove any scarred or patchy blossom end or splits. These are great for taking out individually and cooking because the skin will slip right off as soon as heated, or you can just put them through blender or food processor if incorporating skin. I might heat a gallon bag of frozen tomatoes in a pot to just simmering, then drain/strain off all the watery liquid as “tomato juice”, then food mill to remove skin and some seeds, then proceed to make something — pasta sauce, soup, stew, etc.

I also roast then freeze for more intense flavor.

Another favorite method is to dehydrate with or without skin. These can be eaten as tomaisins or chips if dried to crisp, or ground into small bits or powder.

Of course making sauces or jarring whole, cut up, and other various states, too. I still need to get and learn to pressure can but do manage to hot waterbath can them.

Dehydrated tomatoes are probably what I use most in sandwiches and salads during the off-season while I have them — they don’t seem to last long (get eaten up first). I do enjoy using my own jarred tomato-based salsas and sauces as well.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, my favorite way to save tomatoes is to make them up into tomato sauce or salsa and then can that. The tomato flavor is cooked right into the sauce. I also make up tomato based dishes like lasagna or chili and then freeze the dish. (When I'm making stuff like that in the summer, with the garden veggies, I always do a double recipe, one to eat and one to freeze. It really isn't that much more work than doing the single recipe.) Pull it out in mid-winter and thaw in the refrigerator for a day or so, then heat.

[Gary350]

You can freeze hole tomatoes they are soft and mushy when they thaw but still good in soup and stew. You can slice & dice tomatoes or puree them then freeze in zip lock bags they are good is soup and stew also. After 6 to 8 months in the freezer they get a bad flavor from freezer burn.

I Can 150 lbs of tomatoes in mason jars every summer. 3 years later flavor is just as good as the day I harvested them from the garden. After 5 years flavor starts to fade away be sure to Date all your Lids. Canning in mason jars is very easy, I Can my tomatoes with the skins & seeds because skins have tomato paste flavor. If you remove skins they make excellent tomato paste puree skins in the blender or food processor. If you puree whole tomatoes with skins & seeds you get the best flavor.

[digitS']

DW likes to freeze cherry tomatoes.

Through the winter, she puts green onions under the broiler with the frozen tomatoes. Some cilantro is added after a minute or two. (We still have some cilantro from the garden at the moment, onions on basement shelves aren't scallions so we have to buy those .)

Attention is required for what's going on under that broiler. But, after everything is thawed, wilted and somewhat cooked, she pulls the veggies out, adds some salt and hot pepper flakes, tosses in the blender, and we have a salsa sauce.

Steve

[productivegardener]

Like others have said, freezing fresh tomatoes is possible if you intend to use them for sauce or juice. One thing that happens is that the tomatoes tend to lose a lot of fluid as they thaw. If you intend to make a thick sauce or paste and drain the juice off, this can actually be a plus.

[Gary350]

Like others have said, freezing fresh tomatoes is possible if you intend to use them for sauce or juice. One thing that happens is that the tomatoes tend to lose a lot of fluid as they thaw. If you intend to make a thick sauce or paste and drain the juice off, this can actually be a plus.

If you thaw frozen tomatoes they only loose liquid if you allow it to leak & get away. I would put frozen tomatoes in a pot let them thaw to save the liquid. Throw your vegetables, spices, meat in the pot with the tomatoes let it cook and you have soup or stew.

Many books tell you to dip tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds to remove the skins. I learned not to throw away the skins they make excellent tomato paste.

Put tomatoes with skins & seeds in the kitchen blender 2 minutes you get tomato sauce.

Skinned tomatoes in the blender makes good tomato juice.

Tomato skins in a blender you get tomato paste.

If you Can is jars of freeze is zip lock bags tomatoes will only be good for cooking in other foods, sauces, mixed into other things, meat loaf, catsup, hamburgers, pizza, lasagna, tacos, salsa, many other things.

You can always freeze some tomatoes and Can some too. Plan to use the frozen tomatoes first.

Boil the water from a quart of tomatoes until it becomes thick paste it is good on topping on, hamburgers, meat loaf, add spices for pizza sauce.

Put 8 tomatoes, 6 garlic cloves, 1 whole onion, in a pot with tight lid or aluminum foil on top bake in oven 1 hours then puree in kitchen blender this makes the best Roasted tomato sauce you every had. Some people like to make things like this freeze it in bags it is ready to cook with but still cannot keep in the freezer very long or it gets freezer burn taste.