My husband's garden has gone haywire, and we have more tomatoes right now than I know what to do with. Half his crop was demolished in the terrible storms in June, so I'm surprised we've had this much! Every time we see my parents, we give them a large bag to take home, but even they can't use them fast enough. My sister's family hates tomatoes, and my husband's parents grow their own and are constantly trying to give us some! Anyway, is there a way to preserve them to use later? I feel like right now, I have enough to probably last the next year. I don't mean to use in sauces or something, I'd like to preserve them whole to use for salads or hamburger / sandwich toppings which is mainly what we use them for. Is this possible? If not, is there any other idea what to do with them? I looked on the internet at homemade salsa which intrigued me, but there is so much equipment the website suggested to can it to prevent bacteria growth. I'm not sure how much is "really" necessary. So, if you have made that, how hard is it? What equipment would I really need? Any other suggestions?
What about donating them to a local food pantry? Fresh produce is difficult to come by sometimes for food pantries, especially since they don't last as long as canned and boxed foods. I don't know if they'll take them, but that's a great use of produce for people who probably wouldn't have access to fresh produce otherwise.
If you were closer to me I'd buy them from you. We LOVE tomatoes and have them daily.
I don't know about preserving them whole. The only thing I can think of would be marinara sauce and salsa. I use a lot of the canned diced tomatoes for dishes I cook.
Good luck.
I have frozen tomatoes before using the following method. It does not involve canning.
Instructions
Things You'll Need:
* Fresh tomatoes
* Serrated paring knife
* Stockpot
* Boiling water
* Large bowl of ice water
* Zip closure freezer bags
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
Step 3
Pop the stem off the tomatoes. If it is stubborn, use a knife to carefully remove the stem.
4.
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).
5.
Step 5
Plunge the tomatoes immediately into an ice water bath. This stops the tomatoes from cooking and further loosens the skins.
6.
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.
7.
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.
8.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.
Would you be willing to sale some? I live in The Colony and I am willing to come to you to buy some. Thanks
I wish you were closer...I'd take some off your hands...I LOVE tomatoes!!! How about your neighbors?
You could bring your kiddos to camp on Lake Grapevine - www.AdventureDayCamps.com - and then I could take a bag of tomatoes off your hands :-)
I love tomatoes and they can be really expensive to buy, so I would suggest giving them away to neighbors, church memebers, food bank, etc.
I will take some.I am in flower mound.Also you can make some pasta sauce or pizza sauce and freeze..works great.
My family always grew a big garden. My mom used to can food every summer. She just used the canning jars, canning lids & canning rings. She would boil everything to sanitize them. Then add the food & put the jars in a hot water bath to cause the lids to seal. She's put a towel over the jars so they wouldn't crack from cooling to fast after she took them out. You can buy the canning supplies at Walmart & they come with directions.
There's a book called 'Too Many Tomatoes' that has some good ideas. Also, my mom had a book called 'Stocking Up.'
I found an article that has some ideas too. http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/tomatoes-8128-cut-to...
Salsa, pasta sauce, stewed tomatoes, sun dried are some common ways to store. They freeze well if cooked, but I don't think uncooked would turn out well when thawed, but I've never tried.
