Question about Freezing Tomatoes

[Constance]

I have a LOT of Roma tomatoes coming on right now. I have plenty of the big round ones for slicing and using fresh...I grow this kind to preserve. '
I've been making roasted tomato sauce out of them for the freezer, and want to make some salsa to freeze also.
Problem being, my peppers are just getting started and haven't caught up with the tomatoes yet.

My problem is that I can't stand over the stove and peel a bunch of tomatoes.
Question: I have heard you can freeze whole tomatoes, then dip in boiling water to remove the skins as needed.
Has anyone tried this?

I'm also thinking of oven-drying some of them, then packing in EVOO and freezing. Has anyone tried this?

I would appreciate any advice you all can give me.

 

[Alix]

I have blanched them and then frozen them for later use. It works well.

If you haven't already thought of it, I would suggest freezing the tomatoes until you are ready to make salsa, and then canning your salsa. It is very easy to do as tomatoes are very acidic. That way you will have beautifully jarred salsa on your pantry shelves either for you to use or to give as gifts.

 

[urmaniac13]

Question: I have heard you can freeze whole tomatoes, then dip in boiling water to remove the skins as needed.
Has anyone tried this?

The method works like a magic also with fresh tomatoes, if they are ripe enough. You use a large fork to secure the tomato, dip in a boiling water for a few seconds and as you extract it the skin starts peeling right from the insertion of the fork, and the rest is easy without any labourous effort, try it!

 

[Jeekinz]

The corn thread made me look this up.

I'm starting to get alot of romas and grape tomatoes. I would like to save some for a large pot of sauce and/or salads later on. Can I freeze them whole or do I need to remove the skins?

 

[Barb L.]

I have frozen tomatoes w/skin on - put on cookie sheet- freeze, then put in zip lock freezer bag. They are only good in sauces though, they do get mushy. When ready to use, take out and run warm water over frozen tomatoes to peel.

 

[Katie H]

Sure, they can be frozen whole. I usually wash and dry them and put them into a zipper-lock freezer bag. I use them in soups, stews and sauces. All I ever do to remove the skins is to drop the frozen tomatoes into a bowl of cold tap water. The skins come off quite easily.

Saw Martha Stewart do a frozen Bloody Mary using frozen cherry tomatoes. She put a whole bunch of frozen cherry tomatoes (with skins on) into the blender and whizzed them up, then added the vodka, etc. Looked pretty neat.

 

[Loprraine]

I have frozen them with the skin on also. I find that when thawed, the skin peels off. Freezing them for salsa is a great idea!

 

[Constance]

Last year I made a huge batch of salsa, leaving the skins on the tomatoes. It was great fresh, but we had more than we could eat, and I froze the rest. When I thawed it out, I whizzed it in the food processer, and it made a great sauce!

 

[sparrowgrass]

I have frozen whole tomatoes--the only warning I have is to remove the stems--they poke thru the bags if you are not careful.

The skins slip right off as soon as the 'maters thaw just a little.

 

[sattie]

Just a thought.. on Alton Brown, they talked about roasting roma tomatoes with onions, garlic, and oregano. Put through a food mill and I froze the resulting sauce. I am hoping to use that sauce for a number of things. It turned out really nice. And I would think that freezing the sauce as opposed to whole tomatoes would not take up as much space.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Sattie, that is how I did my sauce last year--halved the tomatoes and onions, scattered a number of cloves of garlic, and chopped some celery and green peppers.

Roasted them at 400 for about an hour, if I remember right, then zizzed them up in the food processor and canned the sauce. (No room in the freezer.)

 

[Claire]

I do similar to the last two writers. I do semi-seed them (not religiously the way you do for someone with diverticulitis, just enough to reduce some of the liquid that freezing tomatoes entail). On the baking sheet I also put a head of garlic (separate if you want to, but no need to peel), a thick-sliced onion, and if your tastes run that way, peppers, either sweet or hot. Drizzle with olive oil, S&P. I bake for longer at a lower temp (maybe 325 for an hour, but it really depends on the size and type of tomato). The idea is to dry them out some and concentrate their sweetness. Then through a food mill (strainer or china cap), garlic cloves, onions and all, and into the freezer. When you thaw tomatoes you've frozen using almost any method, there will be some watery-ness (is that a word??). It will float to the top and be clear. I just pour it off. What remains will be a nice sauce. At that time you can season for either salsa or a red sauce for pasta, pizza, or even in chili.

 

[carolelaine]

I like to can mine, I think they taste better than frozen. I also am making some canned roasted tomato sauce. I canned salsa one year and I decided it was better to use the preserved tomatoes and make the salsa with them as needed. Peppers and onions come out less than crisp from the freezer and a dark color when canned that was not very appealing.

 

[judyann]

freezing tomatoes

I blanch tomatoes in boiling water for a minute then let slightly cool to handle and peel...then put in freezer bags or containers.

I have a LOT of Roma tomatoes coming on right now. I have plenty of the big round ones for slicing and using fresh...I grow this kind to preserve. '
I've been making roasted tomato sauce out of them for the freezer, and want to make some salsa to freeze also.
Problem being, my peppers are just getting started and haven't caught up with the tomatoes yet.

My problem is that I can't stand over the stove and peel a bunch of tomatoes.
Question: I have heard you can freeze whole tomatoes, then dip in boiling water to remove the skins as needed.
Has anyone tried this?

I'm also thinking of oven-drying some of them, then packing in EVOO and freezing. Has anyone tried this?

I would appreciate any advice you all can give me.

 

[Claire]

Judyann, when peeling tomatoes, I don't stand over the stove and peel them. I slit that X on the bottom, toss into the boiling water, then into a huge bowl of ice water too cool, then on to several layers of paper or cloth towels. THEN I take a break and go back and peel when the heat is off. I, like many women my age, simply cannot stand over a hot stove for too long, or I won't need to salt anything, my sweat will do it! But, Barb L, if my crop comes up gangbusters, I'm going to try your method!