Freezing Cherry Tomatoes?

[whistech]

Congratulations on your bumper crop Starlight.

[gardeninglee]

I have some old grape tomatoes from Trader Joe's that sat in the fridge for too long and probably 30% of them turned into tomato raisins! I tried one and they were sweet and chewy just like raisins. There were probably 10% that had mold on them and the rest were still plump. I wonder if there is a way to turn them into raisins in the fridge w/o it going moldy?

[gardeninglee]

Here's a picture.

[Hulamom]

Aloha Starlight,
I dehydrated some of my tomatoes the last couple of years and they were/are so tasty, you have to stop yourself from eating them all as a snack! My dad had dehydrated his homegrown tomatoes about 8 years ago when he was still alive. About 2 yrs ago, I scraped some seeds off several different color pieces of his dried tomatoes and planted them. They germinated and grew! It was so exciting and wonderful to have grown the same tomatoes my dad had grown. I was able to save and share the new seeds with my sisters and friends even tho I didn't know the names of the tomatoes. Anyway, dehydrating them (as others have suggested) is a great idea too.

[coronabarb]

How cool is that Hulamom!

Here's info on tomatoes in oil. If there are no herbs/garlic on them, they can be stored at room temp.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch...ablesinoil.pdf

[AlittleSalt]

Star, I just got finished making tomato juice. It's pretty easy and you can freeze it in zip-lock bags for later use. I used Porter cherry tomatoes.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by gardeninglee

I have some old grape tomatoes from Trader Joe's that sat in the fridge for too long and probably 30% of them turned into tomato raisins! I tried one and they were sweet and chewy just like raisins. There were probably 10% that had mold on them and the rest were still plump. I wonder if there is a way to turn them into raisins in the fridge w/o it going moldy?

I have no idea. Haven't heard of tomatoes acting like that. Tomatoes don't last long enough around me to get wrinkly or moldy. Life would be very dull without mater sandwiches.

Originally Posted by Hulamom

Aloha Starlight,
I dehydrated some of my tomatoes the last couple of years and they were/are so tasty, you have to stop yourself from eating them all as a snack! My dad had dehydrated his homegrown tomatoes about 8 years ago when he was still alive. About 2 yrs ago, I scraped some seeds off several different color pieces of his dried tomatoes and planted them. They germinated and grew! It was so exciting and wonderful to have grown the same tomatoes my dad had grown. I was able to save and share the new seeds with my sisters and friends even tho I didn't know the names of the tomatoes. Anyway, dehydrating them (as others have suggested) is a great idea too.

I agree that is so cool! You have a bit of your dad to cherish and remember and an heirloom tomato going. Sometimes names are not important, it is the flavor and the memories that count. Hope folks keep your dad's tomato line going.

Originally Posted by coronabarb

How cool is that Hulamom!

Here's info on tomatoes in oil. If there are no herbs/garlic on them, they can be stored at room temp.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fch...ablesinoil.pdf

Thanks for the link ! Tomatoes really are a versatile fruit.

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Star, I just got finished making tomato juice. It's pretty easy and you can freeze it in zip-lock bags for later use. I used Porter cherry tomatoes.

Maybe sometime when you get a chance, you can give me your recipe and steps on how you did it. I enjoy alot of juices, but hate to say this tomato juice is not one of my favorites. Maybe it is because I never had fresh tomato juice before only the stuff in the little metal cans. Yucky tasting stuff.

No rush. I'm having fun trying everybody's methods and freezing tomatoes. What's great too is I can bag up some to give to folks too and they can eat later. Especially the elderly who don't eat a whole lot all at one time. Making tiny bags for them.

This freezing is so much easier than trying to learn to can or worrying if the jars sealed good enough or are gonna pop from temps changes and humidity here and spoil.

Oh for I forget, I was asked on the ones I put in freezer bags whole. When they thaw them. Will they turn mushy or do they stay firm? Said I would ask as I new at doing this myself.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt
Star, I just got finished making tomato juice. It's pretty easy and you can freeze it in zip-lock bags for later use. I used Porter cherry tomatoes.

Starlight... Quote
Maybe sometime when you get a chance, you can give me your recipe and steps on how you did it. I enjoy alot of juices, but hate to say this tomato juice is not one of my favorites. Maybe it is because I never had fresh tomato juice before only the stuff in the little metal cans. Yucky tasting stuff. Un-Quote

I didn't say I liked the way it tastes. I just wrote that it's possible I'm used to the way the stuff in the cans taste too.

[Tracydr]

I dehydrate mine. They make intense crunchy snacks and really good pizza sauce. Just toss them in anything you use tomatoes in.
I cut normal sized cherries in half,leave tiny currents whole.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Starlight

Neat! I have a friend's dehydrator I can use anytime I want.

Ok, can you please clarify for me the olive oil part? Do I just take whole tomatoes and put in olive oil and let sit for 3-4 days? Does the oil dry the tomatoes up or what else do I need to do?

There was a great thread with drying recipes on here a year or two ago. I would do a search if I were you. I tried marinating mine a couple of times in red wine but found that I prefer the flavor plain best. It's hard to imagine how intense a really good,sweet tomato can taste when that flavor is multiplied by drying.
I keep my baggies of tomatoes in the refridgerator amd have had them last over a year when I've forgotten about them. A little tiny bag holds a lot of tomatoes,too.

[oakley]

"Oh for I forget, I was asked on the ones I put in freezer bags whole. When they thaw them. Will they turn mushy or do they stay firm? Said I would ask as I new at doing this myself."

They will be mushy fully thawed. I take out a dozen and in a very short time (15-20 minutes) they will be icy soft/firm and can be cut easily in half...so many ways to use them.

You need to read up and experiment. I mention freezing just to deal with the abundance you have, then in the cooler fall/winter months you can take out some and deal with them at that time. Delicious. A sheet pan in the oven with onion and garlic roasted on low heat for an hour or two will slightly 'dehydrate' them and make a lovely sauce...cut in half or left whole.
I have an abundance of harvest come late August/September and roast, dehydrate, freeze whole slices, roast/smoke in the smoker, then freeze for winter salsas....a hundred ways to prep for the freezer. I still have a few frozen bags of whole toms and whole cherries and smoked sauces in the freezer from last year using up now....made a fresh 'ketchup', a bbq sauce, etc. And soon i will have this years crop to deal with.

I would try something now with some of your fresh cherry toms. If too hot for your oven try your friends dehydrator or use your grill. I make a foil try lined with parchment to roast/smoke on the grill. Off the coals on the less hot side. This pic is last year early fall of mostly tomatillos for the grill/smoker. Just an hour they soften and get grilled/smokey then into the cuisinart for a coarse chop for salsa and pasta sauce. I think i end up doing about 20 trays over a few weeks, then freeze for the winter.

[oakley]

A frost-free fridge is not a dehydrator. They will dry out but start to rot. Not a good preservation method. An hour or two in your oven on the lowest heat on a sheet pan they will start to 'raisin' but be ready for the freezer for a later recipe. Grocery toms are bred for distance. To last on the shelf. They are drying out in your fridge, and rotting.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by oakley

"Oh for I forget, I was asked on the ones I put in freezer bags whole. When they thaw them. Will they turn mushy or do they stay firm? Said I would ask as I new at doing this myself."

They will be mushy fully thawed. I take out a dozen and in a very short time (15-20 minutes) they will be icy soft/firm and can be cut easily in half...so many ways to use them.

You need to read up and experiment. I mention freezing just to deal with the abundance you have, then in the cooler fall/winter months you can take out some and deal with them at that time. Delicious. A sheet pan in the oven with onion and garlic roasted on low heat for an hour or two will slightly 'dehydrate' them and make a lovely sauce...cut in half or left whole.
I have an abundance of harvest come late August/September and roast, dehydrate, freeze whole slices, roast/smoke in the smoker, then freeze for winter salsas....a hundred ways to prep for the freezer. I still have a few frozen bags of whole toms and whole cherries and smoked sauces in the freezer from last year using up now....made a fresh 'ketchup', a bbq sauce, etc. And soon i will have this years crop to deal with.

I would try something now with some of your fresh cherry toms. If too hot for your oven try your friends dehydrator or use your grill. I make a foil try lined with parchment to roast/smoke on the grill. Off the coals on the less hot side. This pic is last year early fall of mostly tomatillos for the grill/smoker. Just an hour they soften and get grilled/smokey then into the cuisinart for a coarse chop for salsa and pasta sauce. I think i end up doing about 20 trays over a few weeks, then freeze for the winter.

Yummy! That tray looks so inviting. Makes me want to reach out and eat some.

We finally got some rain last night and so I cut more tomatoes for seeds then took the left over parts and cut up. I put them in a sealed container in the fridge. Have to go to town later today to mail out some seeds for folks and am gonna stop at corner store and get garlic and olive oil. Out of them.

Gonna try drying some tonight of those parts I saved. Question I have is even after I squished so much juice out to go with the seeds, there still a bunch of juice when I cut the tomato left over tomato pieces up. Is it ok for the juice to be on them or do I need to try and get some of it off before putting in oven?

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Starlight

. ...Also for the ones I remove the seeds from is their something I can do with all the meat and skins left over instead of tossing to the compost pile?

I dehydrated a whole bunch of tomatoes a few years ago -- so many that I haven't done it since. My dehydrator is the on/off kind, with no fan or temperature controls, and with 6 or 7 trays. I discovered that the most efficient way to dehydrate larger tomatoes was to scoop out the seeds and gel, and dehydrate the rest, otherwise some of them would start to get moldy before they dried! I couldn't rotate the trays enough. The alternative was to do only a couple trays at a time. I cut the tomatoes in such a way that only the tomato peel sat on the dehydrator tray; otherwise, the wet tomato would stick to the dehydrator tray. Once they'd dried a little, I could turn them over.

For cherry tomatoes, iirc most of them did not need to be scooped out, but it would depend on how juicy they were and if they could dehydrate fast enough (before they got moldy).

I read about a technique for slicing a dozen or more cherry tomatoes at a time. You put them on a plate, put another plate on top (making a plate "sandwich"), and run a sharp bread knife between the plates as you apply some pressure on the top plate to keep the tomatoes in place. iirc I tried it once and it was a little messy, but I could see that if you had dozens and dozens, you could get good at it and it would save time. I cut fresh cranberries in half when I dry them, and this method was not effective for cranberries -- they're too small and hard.

You could also make tomato "leather" if the remainders are all mushed together. I use parchment paper on my dehydrator trays when I'm drying goopy things such as persimmons.

When I canned tomatoes a few years ago, the friend I canned with told me that she had dried the skins and seeds that came out of the tomato mill, and dried those to make a tomato powder! I have also frozen random bits of peel and seed, and it's a welcome addition to soups and stews in the winter. So there is no need to waste any bit of tomato that is not a saved seed.