Freezing Tomatoes.

Freezing farm fresh or your homegrown tomatoes is very easy to do. Freezing is easier than canning and can be done in smaller batches. The tomatoes will not be solid once thawed, but are perfect for spaghetti sauce, lasagna, sauces and soups. There are two very simple ways to freeze to meet your needs. Here is how to do it in easy steps. The ingredients and equipment that are need are simple as well. All you need is tomatoes, ripe but not over ripe. Vacuum food sealer can be used if you have one but plastic freezer bags work great. A large bowl, one large pot and a large slotted spoon and a colander or drainer.

First you need to peel and core your tomatoes. An trick for easy peeling is to place a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for 45 seconds. Then over your bowl cut your tomatoes into any size you like. Then pack them into plastic freezer bags leaving an inch at the top, and squeezing all the air out as you seal. Lay bags flat in the freezer in single layer until frozen, then stack them any way you like. This method will leave all the juices and seeds in your finished product.

In the second method we will take out the seeds and juices. Peel and core your tomatoes. Then over a small-holed colander cut tomatoes and remove seeds then squeeze each tomato gentle to remove most of the juice. Cut into pieces and place in freezer bag. The juice may be retained and frozen as is or boiled for a few minutes to reduced down and concentrated maybe used for flavor in soups and stocks.