Things You'll Need:
- Fresh tomatoes
- Serrated paring knife
- Stockpot
- Boiling water
- Large bowl of ice water
- Zip closure freezer bags
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Step 1
Vine ripened tomatoes taste best fresh or frozen. If you didn't grow your own tomatoes, pay a visit to your local farmer's market for a wide selection of ripe tomatoes. Pick tomatoes that are fully colored and tender, but not mushy or soft.
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Step 2
Clean the tomatoes by rinsing them individually under a stream of running water. Gently rub the surface of the fruit to remove any soil. If you aren't sure if the tomatoes are organic, wash them with a mild fruit and vegetable cleaner to help remove pesticide and herbicide residues, then rinse well.
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Step 3
Pop the stem off the tomatoes. If it is stubborn, use a knife to carefully remove the stem.
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Step 4
Fill a stockpot with water and bring it to a rapid boil. Dip 2 to 3 tomatoes at a time into the water. Remove the tomatoes from the pot with a slotted spoon when the skins begin to loosen (after about 30 seconds).
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Step 5
Plunge the tomatoes immediately into an ice water bath. This stops the tomatoes from cooking and further loosens the skins.
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Step 6
Slide the skins off the tomatoes and compost them. Use a serrated knife to remove any stubborn bits of peel and cut out the core of the tomato. At this point you can freeze the tomatoes whole or cut them into halves or quarters.
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Step 7
Pack the tomatoes into freezer bags, leaving one inch of headroom at the top of the bag. Freezer bags that have a zipper seal work best. Squeeze the air of the bag and zip the top close.
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Step 8
Save room in your freezer by laying the bags of tomatoes flat on a freezer shelf. Once frozen, stack the bags wherever you would like in the freezer. Frozen tomatoes stay fresh for up to one year and taste best cooked into soups, stews, and sauces.
Comments
aliciaanswers said
on 2/13/2009 I love making tomato sauce and use tomatoes in so many recipes but they go bad so quickly...this is good advice for me...now i will have tomatoes on hand and won't have to run to the market next time i cook! Thank you!
dthere said
on 2/2/2009 Not picking tomatoes and that are mushy or soft is what I needed to know. Thanks!
anniefarmer said
on 8/5/2008 This is exactly the info I need this morning, since I just harvested LOADS of my organically grown tomatoes. Last summer I had about 80 lbs, and made past sauce. This year I'd rather freeze them and I trust this advice, from a fellow organic gardener. Thank you !!