Ever do it? I have three tomato plants that are just starting to produce and I know there'll be too many for current use. I've cooked them down and canned in the past, but it's just too friggin' hot and muggy to do that now. So, I thought I'd cut some of them up in chunks and freeze them. I know they'd only be good for sauces, but still better than letting them rot.
Food Freezing Tomatoes ???
- Thread starter Echoes
- Start date
http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingtomatoes.htm
ive never done it personally, but my grandma has before with success. good luck
ive never done it personally, but my grandma has before with success. good luck
I roast extra tomatoes with sliced onions, big chunks of red and green peppers, and unpeeled garlic cloves. I roast under the broiler or in an iron skillet with a bit of olive oil. When the skins are nearly black I chop everything up, squeeze the garlic out of the cloves, and freeze everything in small portions in freezer bags. During the winter, I use this concoction as salsa, add it to Mexican food, or add it to spaghetti sauce. It really adds a lot of flavor and is worth the effort.
If you have green tomatoes at the end of the season that will never ripen, roast them into a green salsa and freeze. Years ago when we gardened more exuberantly friends and neighbors used to beg us for the year-end green tomatoes, which I gladly passed on in bushels--until I got wise.
I do it every tomato season. I grow several varieties and I end up with squillions of them. The cherry tomatoes I simply cut in half and freeze. The other larger varieties, I cut into large chunks, then freeze. I always put them into what we call Chinese food containers (they hold about 600ml) and all I do is add the entire contents of the container when I'm cooking dishes that require tomatoes in the sauce - I don't defrost them. They keep for ages in the freezer and it's a great way to use the excess fruit. Good luck with yours.
I actually just found this link while looking for another recipe - it has lots of information about the best way to freeze fresh tomatoes:
http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingtomatoes.htm
http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingtomatoes.htm
I do this every year, since I always plant too many tomato plants. Mostly, I just make different types of pasta sauce from them, and freeze it so we can just pull them out as needed. I've never made salsa with them, but I hear that's a fantastic way to use them too (and freeze).
My favorite sauce is just tomatoes cooked with olive oil, butter, garlic, an onion cut in half (then thrown away after cooking) and seasoned with salt and pepper. Fantastic for just about every type of pasta!
My favorite sauce is just tomatoes cooked with olive oil, butter, garlic, an onion cut in half (then thrown away after cooking) and seasoned with salt and pepper. Fantastic for just about every type of pasta!
I actually got an e-mail about this today. Here is the link: http://www.southernplate.com/2009/07/how-to-put-up-tomatoes-the-super-easy-way.html
Yep, I do it all the time too! I just use those plastic takeaway containers to store them.. and chop a section off as and when I need to use them!
