Freezing Tomatoes

[Brenjon]

We have a surplus of tomatoes. Could anyone tell me how to freeze them for soups an pizzas etc to use later in the year.
Thanks in anticipation
Regards Brenjon

[alan refail]

Dear Brenjon

I am tempted to say "Stick 'em in the freezer!".
Come to think of it that's exactly what we do. Freeze them whole and take out as many as you want for what you are making. It works fine.

[glallotments]

We do the same and the good thing is whilst still frozen we just run them under the tap and the skins fall away.

When they are frozen they clank together like boules!!!

[Gilly C]

I used to do the same as the others, now I have a dehyrdrator but being scared of botulism instead of storing in oil I freeze them they take up a fraction of the space and if frozen on a silcon mat I can get out just as many as I need and the flavour is fantastic

[mrsbirdland]

I've always frozen my tomatoes, just sticking them in a bag, in the past, but this year tried roasting them as suggested in the Seasonal Recipes in September's Kitchen Garden. (with the garlic, pepper, salt, olive oil but not the balsamic vinegar -). We found it took longer than suggested, 2 hours rather than 1, but the end result was fabulous.

I froze some of it plain, and did some as a pasta sauce with roasted vegetables as Primrose suggests in 'Preserve Your Produce' under Harvesting Q and A. Lovely.

I'm already running out of freezer space and the whole tomatoes do take up a lot of room. Also, I think the article is right in suggesting this intensifies the flavour. My frozen whole tomatoes were always nice, but perhaps a bit watery.

[Primrose]

I've never tried freezing tomatoes without processing them and would love to do so if I had enough freezer space as one of my favourite simple meals is fried tomatoes and bacon. I always thought they might be too watery when they defrosted. However, purreeing them down will certainly save you space if you have a glut.
Just chop them up and fry with chopped onions (+garlic & basil if liked) until the mixture is pulpy. Whizz with a blender stick until smooth and freeze in bags. If you cook the mixture down slightly to reduce it concentrates the flavour but seems a waste if you want it for soups or caseroles.