Frozen Tomatoes

I thought I read in this forum a recipe to save tomatoes by freezing - like canned tomatoes or tomato sauce. I thought I had saved it, but can't find it! It involved roasting the tomatoes and then freezing but that is all I remember. Anyone have this or can the original poster repeat the recipe? Arrrgghhhh.

Thanks!!!

Spoke too soon! Found it! Reprinted below:






Tomato Sauce – frozen





Line cookie sheet with foil. Wash and quarter tomatoes (take
off stems, but no need to peel, core, or seed) and lay skin-side down in the
pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 400 for 1 hour. Cool until you can
handle them, then blend. Pour into freezer containers and freeze (I also do ice
cube trays, then put in baggies). When you are needing marinara sauce, just
defrost and add to sauteed onions and garlic. Season–enjoy!

Thanks for posting the recipe. My tomatoes are verrrrrrrry slowly coming on and I planned to can and freeze, but could not remember the freezing instructions.

Made it last might and today. And here is the process:

The tomatoes:



The cookie sheet - I saved one tomato for lunch:



The blended tomatoes:



Filling the bags. I did press all of the air out and double bag:



Thank you to whomever posted that originally!

Ultimately, one cookie sheet full made 1.5 quarts. I bagged it in 1/2 quart increments.

I have used roasted tomatoes as a base for a very good tomato soup, also. So tomato sauce or soup... And I imagine you could add herbs to the final product, too. But why not wait and add fresh?

Chopper:

I also bake my tomatoes the way you do. But I put seasonings and olive oil over the tomatoes before baking. After cooling I put them into freezer bags as is and use them in my homemade tomato sauce throughout the winter.

They also taste yummy right after baking!

This is so much easier than canning.

Happy Gardening Everyone....

When I roast tomatoes for tomato soup I use olive oil also. I was afraid that it would hinder the freezing. Good to know. Now I will do that. I would prefer it that way.

Thank you Chopper and Dunkinjean for these recipes! I'm hoping to have the tomatoes to try these out in this fall once our Dallas area temps start going down. I've been looking for frozen tomato recipes for some time in anticipation. These look great.

Jane

I freeze tomatoes, but I've never roasted them first. Is that just for added flavor or does it have something to do with the keeping quality?

I drop whole, washed tomatoes into boiling water and boil about a minute (or less if very ripe). Remove and plunge into cold water. This makes the skins slip right off.

Core the tomatoes and slip off the skins.

If I'm planning to use the tomatoes in soup, stew, or chili, I just chop them up and place in freezer bags. If I'm planning on making thick sauces, I squeeze out the seeds and excess juice by hand over a strainer, and then quarter or large dice the tomatoes before freezing. The saved juice can be used for drinking or frozen to add to soups.

Yes, ander 217, that is certainly another great idea for freezing.

Except I keep the seeds since I use the frozen baked tomatoes as stewed tomatoes.

Anyway we can save fresh tomatoes by freezing, canning, etc. is great!

Happy Gardening Everyone....

I like the flavor of roasted tomatoes. And I like the recipe b/c no straining, coring, skinning, etc. But the tried and true way is the way you do it. Always a keeper.

I have frozen roasted tomatoes also. I roasted them at low temperatures for a long time, then broiled them before mixing up.

Funny I found this thread today. Just last night I found an old scribbled recipe for something that sure looks like tomato sauce. (I am notorious for writing down procedures and not putting a title to it.)

I made a batch of these on Saturday and they were spectacular! I may never again make tomato sauce any other way. We loved it so much, the sauce never made it into the freezer. We diluted it, spiced it up a little, and had it as soup!

The spice we used is a mix from Penzey's Spices called Sandwich Sprinkle. It tastes great on sandwiches, but it is to die for on tomatoes!

ander217 wrote:I freeze tomatoes, but I've never roasted them first. Is that just for added flavor or does it have something to do with the keeping quality?

@ Ander: I roast tomatoes for flavor. The roasting concentrates the flavor and brings out a sweetness.

@ Junequilt: I don't have sandwich sprinkle yet, but isn't Penzeys just great?

Roasted Tomatoes:
by Melissa D'Arabian, Food Network

In a large bowl:
Add sliced half tomatoes (any variety). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, dried thyme.
Toss gently til covered with oil and seasonings.
Place halves on cookie sheet, skin-side down.
Place in preheated 275* oven for two hours.
After One hour, turn the tomatoes over.
Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Place into freezer bags.
Mark and date bags. Freeze.
These can be used in sauces, chili, soups, later.

You can also use these right away wherever you use tomatoes.

Meghan -- another Penzey's lover? Too cool!

A friend turned me on to Penzey's a few months ago when I visited Cleveland, OH.
I bought several bags of the Sandwich Sprinkle and a batch of empty shaker jars. When I got home, I decanted the sprinkle into the jars and gave them to my team co-workers as souvenirs. Everyone loves it!

DH and I were looking through the Penzey's catalogue this past weekend and decided that from now on we will give Penzey's spices as Christmas gifts to friends and family. Of course, we'll have to try out each item first, LOL!

I am hooked. I will never again buy spice in a grocery store.

junequilt wrote:I am hooked. I will never again buy spice in a grocery store.

I may break down if I'm in a huge rush, but I'm with you on that one! I made a wonderful batch of zucchino-tomato-couscous at work (with a knife and the microwave, lol!) and the Cajun seasoning was perfect.

thanks for sharing! i am going to try this!!!

anyone know what the freezer life is on this?

happyfrog wrote:thanks for sharing! i am going to try this!!!

anyone know what the freezer life is on this?

Not sure but it should at least take you to the next tomato crop.

I've kept frozen tomatoes for a year with no noticeable problems. I draw as much air out as possible with a straw before sealing the bags.

From everything I have read, a year is a good rule of thumb (or as my son's coworker says: thumb rule). The main thing as ander said is to make sure there is as little air in the bag as possible. I double bag since I don't have freezer bags right now and I squeeze the air out of both bags.

Chopper wrote:I double bag since I don't have freezer bags right now and I squeeze the air out of both bags.

What my mom had us all do when we were kids was to seal the zip top bag almost all the way, then use a drinking straw to suck all the extra air out. If you are careful, you can sort of pull the straw out and finish zipping it at the same time to get a great seal. Works especially nicely with veggies like green (string) beans where the shape of the veg itself tends to create air pockets.

I usually don't bother with the straw, though it makes sense. I just suck it out from the last open corner. LOL. Not bright enough to think of the straw!

Chopper wrote:I usually don't bother with the straw, though it makes sense. I just suck it out from the last open corner. LOL. Not bright enough to think of the straw!

+1
I need to buy a small freezer... ugh, it's always something...

HAHA Camprn; I was thinking the same thing. I would rather freeze than can. Since I have been at my son's I have frozen about 6 quarts of tomato sauce. We have already used 2 and it was good!

Apparently you can also freeze raw tomatoes that are just cut up. My only concern is that the roasting does really enhance the flavor and I think raw tomatoes would yeild a raw taste. I have cooked with fresh tomatoes and it often is a tad *too* fresh for me.

Chopper wrote:I think raw tomatoes would yeild a raw taste. I have cooked with fresh tomatoes and it often is a tad *too* fresh for me.

I'm confused.

Are you saying that you have to cook your tomatoes before you freeze them so they don't taste raw in the finished dishes? Do you think it makes any difference whether they are cooked before freezing or after?

I freeze raw tomatoes and they taste raw when first thawed, but once they are cooked they taste like any other tomatoes to me. I usually use my frozen tomatoes in spaghetti sauces, soups, and stews where they are normally thoroughly cooked anyway. I've never tried using them for fresh salsa or uncooked dishes but if I did I'd add salt to them. That might take away any lingering "raw" taste.

I usually drop mine in boiling water for a minute or two to make the skins slip easily. I don't think tomatoes have to be blanched before freezing, but perhaps the hot water dip negates the "fresh" taste you describe.

Hmm, now you've got me thinking I should freeze some without the dipping, and try them in a fresh dish just to compare the taste. (I love experimenting!)

The best thing about freezing raw tomatoes for me, is if you've got just one or two tomatoes on the counter which need to be used you can have them chopped and in the freezer in no time. When canning you need a large amount of tomatoes to make it worth the effort. I no longer plant one or two dozen tomato plants to get enough at one time to can large batches of tomatoes and juice as in former years, yet even from a few plants I can usually freeze several bags of tomatoes for cooking.