My mother-in-law keeps giving me tomatoes. And they just sit there on the counter. Waiting. So finally, I grabbed one of my many books on the local harvest and figured out what to do. Freeze ’em! I can freeze them? Yep. Apparently, if you wash and dry them thoroughly, core them , freeze them on a cookie sheet until frozen solid and then put them in freezer bags, they’ll thaw very nicely in the refrigerator months later. Huh. The book says the skins will just peel right off as they thaw, leaving you with a bag full of fresh tomatoes to be used wherever canned tomatoes would work. Splendid! So easy, so quick. And I have a full size freezer in the basement to store ’em. I just hope the book is right….
On a side note, the frozen tomatoes took on the most amazing, smooth texture. Cool.
great tip! now i wish i had planted tomatoes…
The book is correct. The skins will slide right off. The texture will be somewhat on the mushy side, so the thawed tomatoes are best used for cooking.
I have frozen tomatoes regularly for years. I’ve always thought that a frozen tomato would make a terrific weapon. Can you imagine being hit in the head with one?
They’re real beauties. I’ve never frozen a tomato before—I’ll have to try it.
Fantastic tip.
I freeze my tomatoes without coring them. I do them on a cookie sheet until frozen then put them in large freezer storage bags. When I need them, I take out however many I need, cut an X in the skin on the bottom end with a sharp knife, dip them briefly in boiling water and the skins slide right off.