Freezing Tomatoes best flavor even in Black & Colored Varieties - Page 2

Tracydr · June 1, 2012

Since you have cracks, I would definitely blanch to kill bacteria and enzymes. No need to peel. When you thaw, the skin will come right off.
I learned to freeze from my mother, who tried canning once in the early 70's but was so afraid of botulism that she switched to freezing after one batch and froze all her tomatoes after that. She had a very large garden.
I can mine but I freeze until I have enough for large batches. I also freeze sometimes if I find a sale on tomatoes, until I have time to make a batch of sauce, or, just to have fresh tomatoes available for soups/sauces when I want them. I've found Roma's on sale a few times for as low as 10 cents a pound from our local produce store.

DogsandDirt · June 2, 2012

Thanks Tracy. So I don't need to carve out the cracked areas? Does anyone preserve/freeze bird-pecked fruit?

shelleybean · January 9, 2015

I'm planning to make a batch of chili this weekend and I'll be using my last two quarts of canned tomatoes from 2014. Right about now, I'm wishing I'd frozen a big stash of tomatoes. And peppers, too. That would be great. I do have one more quart bag of frozen zucchini I can put in my chili. Can't wait to get started on this season!

Labradors2 · January 9, 2015

I'm very lazy, so I just put my tomatoes in plastic bags and freeze them whole. They store really well and I run them under the hot tap to skin them before use. I really don't see the need to blanch them first, and I think that might cause the skin to crack and to be less protective.

Linda

January 9, 2015	#18
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I'm planning to make a batch of chili this weekend and I'll be using my last two quarts of canned tomatoes from 2014. Right about now, I'm wishing I'd frozen a big stash of tomatoes. And peppers, too. That would be great. I do have one more quart bag of frozen zucchini I can put in my chili. Can't wait to get started on this season! __________________ Michele

June 1, 2012	#16
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Since you have cracks, I would definitely blanch to kill bacteria and enzymes. No need to peel. When you thaw, the skin will come right off. I learned to freeze from my mother, who tried canning once in the early 70's but was so afraid of botulism that she switched to freezing after one batch and froze all her tomatoes after that. She had a very large garden. I can mine but I freeze until I have enough for large batches. I also freeze sometimes if I find a sale on tomatoes, until I have time to make a batch of sauce, or, just to have fresh tomatoes available for soups/sauces when I want them. I've found Roma's on sale a few times for as low as 10 cents a pound from our local produce store.

June 2, 2012	#17
DogsandDirt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Dallas/FortWorth, TX Posts: 116	Thanks Tracy. So I don't need to carve out the cracked areas? Does anyone preserve/freeze bird-pecked fruit?

January 9, 2015	#19
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,895	I'm very lazy, so I just put my tomatoes in plastic bags and freeze them whole. They store really well and I run them under the hot tap to skin them before use. I really don't see the need to blanch them first, and I think that might cause the skin to crack and to be less protective. Linda