The Easy Peasy Way of Freezing Tomatoes
In just 2 steps:
1. Place clean, dry tomatoes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the freezer.
2. Once the tomatoes are hard, transfer to a freezer bag.
It works. Honest.
Tomatoes frozen in this manner may later be canned into sauce, if you like, or you can use them for cooking.
The Easy Peasy Way of Remove Frozen Tomato Skins
You'll notice I didn't suggest removing the tomato skins before freezing them. That's because it's a little bit of work to do it that way. Instead, if you want skinned tomatoes, remove them from the freezer and put them under warm tap water. The skins practically slide off without help. (And while you're at it, consider keeping those skins to make easy peasy tomato paste. I dry the skins, crumble them, and store them in a Mason jar in the pantry. When I need tomato paste, I just add water. Please go here for full instructions.)
How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
As the tomato growing season ends, you'll want to know this trick, too. When frost threatens to kill your tomato vines, pick all the green tomatoes off your plants and bring them inside. Place them in a single layer in your pantry. With time, they will turn red. They won't be quite as delish as garden-fresh tomatoes, but they'll be better than store bought. As they ripen in the fall and possibly the winter months, I often freeze them. Once all my green tomatoes are red, I usually can them. Or you can just use the reddened tomatoes fresh, as they become available.
Or, check out my post on how to cook with green tomatoes.
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