On this publish, we’ll talk about uncover methods to freeze summer time season tomatoes at their peak of freshness to make the most of in dishes later all through the 12 months. Fairly than turning your entire tomatoes into sauce, this technique means you possibly can save tomatoes for every type of cooked recipes!
That is normally a PSA that my mother wished me to share with all of you (“Sarah, you do it!”). She’s filling the mannequin new chest freezer in her basement with baggage and baggage of tomatoes as we converse!
Why Freeze Tomatoes?
Tomatoes are considered thought of considered one of our extreme summer time season crops. Actually, if I might select just one problem to develop each summer time season, it may very well be tomatoes. The excellence in kind between a yard tomato and a grocery retailer one is night time and day, making the entire endeavor increased than price it.
Actually, as quickly as I was a toddler, I assumed I didn’t like uncooked tomatoes. They’d been type of tasteless and normally mealy or mushy. It wasn’t till I attempted a yard tomato—that my dad and mom grew in a small patch in our yard—that I seen I did like them.
In precise truth, the optimum state of affairs could very properly be to eat your full scrumptious yard tomatoes trendy. We love them uncooked in tomato sandwiches and salads, and now we have a rotation of cooked recipes to make the most of them in, together with:
Nonetheless between all this consuming and cooking and sharing with household, mates, and neighbors, it’s good to nonetheless find yourself with some tomatoes left, notably all via that peak harvest time, i.e. appropriate now!
Cooking tomatoes into sauce and freezing or canning it’s in fact a superb different, on account of it breaks these tomatoes down for easier storage. Nonetheless, this will likely sometimes prohibit the kinds of dishes chances are high you will make.
That is the place freezing full tomatoes is obtainable in. In case you’ll have area in your freezer, it’s an effective way to retailer away your additional summer time season tomatoes to be used later all through the 12 months, and chances are high you will make all varieties of cooked recipes with them!
Tomatoes in Chilly Storage
What about that rule that you simply would possibly wish to by no means refrigerate—to not level out freeze—a tomato? Primarily, the rule must be…by no means put an unripe tomato in chilly storage. Make sure that your entire tomatoes are good and ripe ahead of refrigerating or freezing.
On the subject of refrigerating tomatoes, it may buy you an extra few days ahead of it’s important to eat them. Merely allow them to come back again as soon as extra as loads as room temp ahead of having fulfilling with uncooked. Inside the event that they’re a bit earlier their prime, prepare dinner dinner dinner with them!
Frozen tomatoes are meant for cooked features, however so long as you freeze them whereas ripe (they need to odor like a tomato and have a extraordinarily slight give when pressed), they could retain their model!
One of many easiest methods to Use Frozen Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a pure present of glutamate, thought of considered one of many amino acids liable for that savory fifth kind, umami. This makes them a unbelievable ingredient to prepare dinner dinner dinner with, notably in vegetarian and vegan recipes!
We use frozen tomatoes in cooking merely as we’d trendy. Run them below some water, and as well as you’ll uncover that the pores and pores and pores and skin instantly splits and peels appropriate off. (Frozen tomatoes are good to make the most of in any recipe that requires peeled tomatoes.)
Then we enable them to thaw merely ample in order that we’ll lower them. Sit them in your reducing board and depart them for a couple of minutes. That’s all it takes!
We lower them into chunks and stir-fry them in dishes like my dad’s Beef and Tomato Stir-fry or my mother’s Tomato Egg Drop Soup.
You might too add them to fully totally different soups, stews, stir-fries, and extra.
Watch the VIDEO!
One of many easiest methods to Freeze Tomatoes
The technique is awfully easy.
Take your trendy tomatoes, and wash them. Dry them fully with a clear kitchen towel. They shouldn’t have any water on them, in some other case you’ll have ice crystals forming on them.
Swap them full to a freezer bag. Seal the bag, and alter to the freezer. Make sure to not stuff them wherever or put one factor on extreme of the bag as they freeze, or they might burst open, and as well as you’ll find yourself with barely little little bit of a large number.
When able to make the most of, rinse the tomato below working water. The peel will come appropriate off.
Permit to thaw for a couple of minutes, merely extended ample so you’ll be able to lower it with a knife and use it in your recipe.
Freeze fully totally different factors!
Analysis additional about uncover methods to freeze herbs and aromatics like ginger, garlic and peppers in this publish. Steer clear of waste and regularly have these substances obtainable!
One of many easiest methods to Freeze Tomatoes
Research to freeze summer time season tomatoes at their peak of freshness to make the most of in all varieties of dishes later all through the 12 months—not merely tomato sauce!
Prep: 15 minutes
Full: 15 minutes
Directions
Wash your trendy tomatoes and dry them very fully with a clear kitchen towel.
Swap them full to a freezer bag. Seal the bag, and alter to the freezer. Make sure to not stuff them wherever or put one factor on extreme of the bag as they freeze, or they might burst open.
When able to make the most of, rinse the tomato below working water. The peel will come appropriate off. Permit to thaw for a couple of minutes, merely extended ample so you’ll be able to lower it with a knife and use it in your recipe.