Some years the tomato harvest is particularly large. But what to do with all those tomatoes? Freeze? You can find out here whether this works and makes sense.
Tomatoes are a real delicacy and they are also extremely he althy. No wonder more and more hobby gardeners are planting tomatoes. Tomatoes taste particularly gross when eaten straight from the vine, but there are many ways to use tomatoes in other ways. Whether as tomato soup, as ketchup, on the grill in summer or as a delicious tomato salad - all options are open to you.
Sometimes the tomato harvest is quite plentiful, so you have to think about how to use the tomatoes. Many cook their tomatoes so that they don't have to do without the pleasure in winter. Others are wondering if you can freezetomatoes? We'll tell you!
Freezing tomatoes should be considered carefully
While many fruits and vegetables are easy to freeze, tomatoes aren't as easy to freeze. Tomatoes cannot be frozen raw because the fruit is 95 percent water. The quality of the tomatoes would suffer greatly if they were frozen and then thawed. If tomatoes are thawed, they can only be used for cooking, for example to make a fruity tomato sauce.
Freezing Fresh Whole Tomatoes
If you want to freeze raw tomatoes, you have to pay special attention to the quality. The tomatoes shouldn't have any rotten spots and shouldn't be too soft either. Beefsteak tomatoes are best because they have a lower water content than other varieties.
Select the best quality tomatoes, wash them with cold water and then let them dry on paper towels. Then remove the stems and place the tomatoes in a freezer bag.
Freeze tomato pieces
Before freezing, the tomatoes are thoroughly washed, dried and the stalks are removed. Then cut the tomatoes into chunks and put in a freezer container or bag, seal and place in the freezer. The tomatoes will keep frozen like this for up toone year.
Pre-cook tomatoes better
It is much better if you cook the tomatoes before freezing or store a finished tomato dish in the freezer. Prepare a tomato sauce, which you then only have to season to taste after defrosting. So you always have a delicious basic sauce in the freezer that you can vary a lot.
The easiest way to do this is to cut the tomatoes into pieces, s alt them and then cook them for 10 minutes. If you like, you can also add herbs or other spices at this point. After the tomatoes have completely cooled, it is best to place them in plastic freezer containers.
» Tip: Only freeze small portions at a time, then the tomatoes will freeze much better.
Defrost tomatoes
Then, whenever you want to cook the tomatoes, simply take them out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave or saucepan while they're still frozen. If you freeze already pre-cooked tomato dishes, you must not use dairy products or a roux. The milk would coagulate when reheated later and the roux will make the dish bitter when reheated.
» By the way: Roma tomatoes are best for freezing. They are much fleshier than other tomato varieties and also do not contain as much water. The tomatoes should always be firm, but still quite ripe. Tomatoes that do not have a sound skin should not be used for freezing.