It is October, and the weather has officially changed. The crisp air has me dreaming of pumpkin butter and pot roast, however this is the time when summer exits with a big hurrah. Tomatoes are ripe and overwhelming our kitchens. The last of the cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, basil, apples, and beans all need to be harvested before the first frost kills them off. Unless you are stocking up for a canning project, for home gardeners there is little need to visit a farmer's market this time of year.
Speaking of canning projects, what are you doing with your extra tomatoes? Recently I have been hearing of people freezing their tomatoes. This is a new one for me. Anybody know the pros and cons of freezing vs. canning? I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with and am toying with the idea of doing something other than canning this year. Please write in and let me know what you think/know.
Well, I can tell you that yes you can freeze tomatoes, but know that they will be tomato sauce when you defrost. This is fine, as long as that is what you want. Tomatoes have a lot of water content. When frozen, the cell walls are destroyed because of this high water content. When defrosted, they are pure mush and easy to remove the skin.
ReplyDeleteI freeze tomatoes and then use them for sauce or stew. But they will not do much else.
Freeze them on cookie sheets and then place in containers or plastic baggies so that you can pull out one at a time if you need to.
If you want more info on canning tomatoes, you can check out my canning blog at Growing A Greener World TV (www.ggwtv.com).
Good luck and have fun!