How to freeze fresh tomatoes for the winter - all ways to freeze tomatoes

Preparing tomatoes for freezing

In order to start freezing, the tomatoes must be washed in cool water and wiped dry with a paper towel. Freezing wet tomatoes will cause them to stick together and become deformed, which is undesirable.

Methods for freezing fresh tomatoes

Freezing fresh whole tomatoes

This is the easiest way to freeze. The main thing here is to choose the right fruit. For this freezing method, you will only need firm, ripe tomatoes with thick skins. The “Cream” and “Cherry” varieties are ideal.

Place the prepared tomatoes in freezer bags, remove as much air as possible and place in the freezer. Carefully dried fruits are the key to success!

Whole tomatoes can also be frozen without the skin. To do this, make a cross-shaped shallow cut near the stalk and lower the tomato into boiling water for 30 seconds. After such manipulation, the skin is removed in one motion. The peeled fruits are placed on a cutting board covered with cling film, covered with cellophane on top, and sent to the freezer for a day for pre-freezing. After 24 hours, the tomatoes will freeze and can be transferred to bags. And the packages, in turn, are sent to the freezer.

Tomatoes frozen in this way are used for preparing soups, salads, main courses, and also for stuffing.

Tomato slices frozen for the winter

Here preference should also be given to fleshy fruits with thick skin. Prepared tomatoes are cut into slices 8 to 10 millimeters thick. Tomatoes that are cut too thin will crumble when defrosted. Next, the tomatoes are laid out in layers in a tray for freezing. Each layer is covered with cling film or a plastic bag. If you don't have a special tray in your freezer for freezing small foods, then a cutting board or flat plate will do just fine. After about 6 hours, the tomatoes will set and can be transferred to a freezer bag.

Tomatoes, frozen in slices, are ideal for making pizza, hot salad or sandwiches.

Freezing tomato pieces

This method will also not cause much difficulty. Dense tomatoes are cut into pieces or cubes. If necessary, you can first remove the peel. Freezing is done immediately into portioned bags.Here, the friability of frozen products is not necessary, since the vegetables will be added to the finished dish without prior defrosting.

This kind of freezing will be useful for making soups, goulash, sauces and gravies.

Tomatoes in the form of tomato puree, frozen in molds

Slightly overripe and juicy tomatoes are quite suitable for this preparation. You can also use substandard fruits with pre-cut damage. To prepare the puree, the tomatoes are passed through a meat grinder or crushed in a blender. The finished puree is placed in molds and frozen. Silicone muffin molds or just ice molds can be used as freezing molds. The main rule is not to pour the puree to the very edge of the mold, since when it freezes, the liquid expands and the puree may leak out.

After the tomato juice has frozen, which will take about 8-10 hours, the iced tomato cubes are removed from the molds and placed into packaging bags. Filled bags are stored in a freezer.

Frozen tomato puree is used to prepare a variety of sauces.

See video: How to freeze tomatoes - three ways

Freezing stuffed tomatoes

In order to freeze stuffed tomatoes, you need to choose the densest fruits. Using a knife, remove the “cap” from the stem side of the tomatoes and take out all the pulp. You can stuff tomatoes with any filling: meat, mushrooms, cucumbers, pumpkin, etc. Ready stuffed tomatoes are first frozen on a cutting board, and after complete freezing, they are laid out in portioned bags and put in the freezer.

In this video, Lidiya Zavyalov will tell you in detail how to cook stuffed tomatoes:

How to defrost tomatoes

Only whole tomatoes should be thawed. To do this, you need to keep them at room temperature for about 20 minutes, and then cut them in the way you need and put them in a dish.

Tomatoes frozen in circles, pieces, in the form of tomato briquettes, as well as stuffed tomatoes do not require preliminary defrosting.

In this video, Eleonora Ametova will talk about freezing tomatoes for the winter:

Lubov Kriuk will tell you about two ways to freeze tomatoes:

Choose your own way to freeze fresh tomatoes!