What to do with lots of tomatoes?

[MamaBearTeacher]

Is there something that does not involve canning, special equipment, and is simple if you can't eat them all before they go bad?

[Bluegoat]

You can freeze them.  It's better if you take off the skin, but you don't need to - they will still be good for soup and such.

 

If you have a dehydrator, dry them.

 

Give them away.

[creekland]

I freeze them.  I put them in boiling water for 45 - 60 seconds to get the skin to crack, then cool them quickly, peel them, and toss them (whole) into quart freezer bags. Great Value (Walmart's brand) ziplock (not sliding lock) is our favorite providing a good seal without leaking at a nice price. It's quick and easy to use them for recipes later.  We never need to buy canned tomatoes.

 

On good years we also take oodles to relatives, friends, and our church as there are always folks without gardens who love them.

[Ottakee]

I freeze them too but I am even lazier. I wash and core them and the. Depending on size I either 1/2 or 1/4 them and throw in quart size Ziploc locks bags and throw in the freezer. When they thaw the skin slips right off....great for soups, stews, chili, etc.

[madteaparty]

I'm making sauce in the pressure cooker and freezing the jars.

My people also like cheese tomato rice soup.

[Tina]

Fresh salsa

Serve them sliced or wedged as a side dish or put into salads.  I could eat them as a snack, but dh needs a meal with his.  :P

spaghetti sauce-  then freeze in meal sized baggies

I like homemade tomato soup

 

Freeze the rest.  

[creekland]

FWIW, here's why we blanch veggies prior to freezing.  It's not simply more work.  There are quite a few valid reasons:  (Pulled from a Penn St site.)

 

http://extension.psu.edu/food/preservation/news/2012/blanching-vegetables-is-a-must-before-freezing

 

"If you hope to pull tasty, nutritious vegetables from your freezer next winter, you need to blanch them first."

 

"Blanching stops the action of enzymes. These naturally occur in vegetables helping them grow and ripen. The enzymes continue to act after harvest and will cause color, flavor, texture, and nutrient losses. Freezing slows down the action of enzymes - but does not stop them.

 

...

 

Blanching also removes air and helps vegetables to shrink so they take up less freezer space. Plant and pesticide residues and microorganisms are removed from vegetable surfaces. Peels that need removing are loosened. Blanching will actually brighten the color of vegetables."

[Jaybee]

Well, this didn't involve blanching, but I used to wash them, core them, put them skin and all in the blender, and freeze them. Worked great for soups and spaghetti sauces, etc.

[slackermom]

When I have a surplus, I roast trays of tomatoes in the oven. Then I put them in sandwich size bags, and freeze them.

[Guest]

You can can them without a pressure canner, if you have mason jars and the correct lids. Also, I no longer split and peel skins off of mine. I chop them up in my good processor, throw in some fresh herbs, then cook/boil it. I boil the cans and lids seperately, then ladle the cooked tomatoes into the jars, put the lids on, and they soon "plink," indicating a seal.

 

ETA: FOOD processor, although I guess it is also good.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Quill

[KungFuPanda]

Wash them, roast them for about 15 minutes, then shove them through a colander to remove the skins and stems. You can just freeze the purée. I do this with an attachment on my stand mixer, but I'm sure that's overkill.

 

I've also blanched, removed the skins, and frozen them whole.

[madteaparty]

You can can them without a pressure canner, if you have mason jars and the correct lids. Also, I no longer split and peel skins off of mine. I chop them up in my good processor, throw in some fresh herbs, then cook/boil it. I boil the cans and lids seperately, then ladle the cooked tomatoes into the jars, put the lids on, and they soon "plink," indicating a seal.

 

ETA: FOOD processor, although I guess it is also good.

This seems too simple to work, though i may be desperate enough due to lack of freezer space to try it with a jar or two...

[Spy Car]

When tomatoes are plentiful, I like to take large iron (or carbon steel) skillets, pour in a healthy amount of olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, warm the pan and then add tomatoes (which I generally cut across the equator).

 

I keep the heat very low and let them go for hours. This concentrates the flavors, adds a caramelized sweetness, and drive off the moisture (reducing the mass. When done these tomatoes could be frozen for future use.

 

Just use a thick pan. Delicious!

 

Bill 

[Guest]

This seems too simple to work, though i may be desperate enough due to lack of freezer space to try it with a jar or two...

It works! I've done it for years...decades. Take a look at this old blog post: http://25hoursadaymom.com/how-to-can-tomatoes-without-a-pressure-canner/

 

You can follow these instructions but don't split and peel the skin. Just chop them in the food processor, throw in some fresh herbs if you have them (I always do), then into the pot to boil.

 

If I ever wrote on my blog anymore, I would update that info...

[nevergiveup]

You can can them without a pressure canner, if you have mason jars and the correct lids. Also, I no longer split and peel skins off of mine. I chop them up in my good processor, throw in some fresh herbs, then cook/boil it. I boil the cans and lids seperately, then ladle the cooked tomatoes into the jars, put the lids on, and they soon "plink," indicating a seal.

 

ETA: FOOD processor, although I guess it is also good.

 

This does not sound safe.

If the tomatoes are acid enough 4.6 PH or lower, then one can process them in a boiling water bath.

Tomato juice takes 45 minutes in a boiling water bath.

If they are not acid enough, you can add some acid in the form of bottled lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar.

Just because you put hot liquid in a hot jar and plop a lid on it and it seals does not necessarily make it safe.  Jars will seal but the pathogens will not have been killed off.

I purchased a Ph meter since I don't like the taste of added vinegar or lemon juice in my tomato juice.

 

[Guest]

This does not sound safe.

If the tomatoes are acid enough 4.6 PH or lower, then one can process them in a boiling water bath.

Tomato juice takes 45 minutes in a boiling water bath.

If they are not acid enough, you can add some acid in the form of bottled lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar.

Just because you put hot liquid in a hot jar and plop a lid on it and it seals does not necessarily make it safe. Jars will seal but the pathogens will not have been killed off.

I purchased a Ph meter since I don't like the taste of added vinegar or lemon juice in my tomato juice.

 

Just FYi, I have heard this said before. However, no poisoning yet; been doing it for 25 years.

 

ETA: I have heard some people add some lemon juice to raise the acidity. I have never done this, but if someone wants to follow that advice, certainly they should do so. Also, this is not "tomato juice"; it is canned tomatoes.

Edited August 26, 2017 by Quill

[MSNative]

Slice them, freeze them on a baking sheet, then put frozen slices in a ziploc bag and keep in freezer.  I put these on top of gratins in the winter and its heavenly.  
Dice them, freeze them on baking sheet and put the frozen diced tomatoes in ziploc.  Use in chili or soups or jambalayas.  So delish.

[nevergiveup]

Just FYi, I have heard this said before. However, no poisoning yet; been doing it for 25 years.

 

ETA: I have heard some people add some lemon juice to raise the acidity. I have never done this, but if someone wants to follow that advice, certainly they should do so. Also, this is not "tomato juice"; it is canned tomatoes.

 

Yeah, I know folks too who will leave food out all day and still eat it.  I guess I will err on the side of science--universities have tested home canning methods extensively and made recommendations accordingly.  My mom used to use zinc lids or the jars with the rubber gasket and bail handle.  I don't see anyone using them anymore. :001_smile:

Not knowing the type of tomatoes the OP is dealing with, I would hate to have her can them using antiquated methods, especially since tomato varieties are so different now than they used to be. 

[creekland]

Yeah, I know folks too who will leave food out all day and still eat it.  I guess I will err on the side of science--universities have tested home canning methods extensively and made recommendations accordingly.  My mom used to use zinc lids or the jars with the rubber gasket and bail handle.  I don't see anyone using them anymore. :001_smile:

Not knowing the type of tomatoes the OP is dealing with, I would hate to have her can them using antiquated methods, especially since tomato varieties are so different now than they used to be. 

 

FWIW, I feel the same way about blanching prior to freezing, esp since blanching keeps the nutrients in the food better than not-blanching on top of providing safety by killing any bad bugs that might be there.  I like my winter veggies to be as healthy as possible - not just namesake tokens in my food making me think I'm eating nutritiously.  It's definitely not much work for the trade off.

[Zinnia]

I freeze without blanching.

 

I also can them, but I do add lemon juice (it's not much, and it doesn't change the flavor), and I do the boiling water bath that the Ball Blue Book recommends.

 

And we eat an enormous amount fresh, too. Spaghetti sauce, uncooked pasta sauce, in omelets, salsa, tomato salads of lots of types, tuna stuffed tomatoes, tomatoes and cottage cheese, tomato soup...so many tomatoes. Our best tomato year, we ate tomatoes for 77 days straight. It was glorious. This year was a decent, not record breaking uear, and we are at the end. We have eaten them every day for 52 daya. My favorite time of year!

[Guest]

What kind of tomatoes?  Some are better for sauces, others better for salsas.  I got a little crop of Romas going and they aren't that great just for eating (unlike my other tomatoes  that never even make it into to house as I eat them all in the garden).  I'm going to roast the Romas or grill them--there are a bunch of recipes online, I just found out.  And a monk I know grows bunches of them; he roasts them, peels off the skin, peels them, puts them in the blender, and then bags the results for freezing, and use in meals throughout the winter.

 

I might try that, but our freezer is always losing stuff and so I don't know if it is worth the trouble.  Stupid freezer (wink).