How to freeze tomatoes for the winter in the freezer and what to do with them

The active period of consumption of tomatoes falls on the end of summer and the beginning of autumn: at this time they are the most delicious, fragrant and contain the least amount of nitrates. Of course, in winter, you can buy tomatoes in a supermarket, but the price for them is very high, and the taste and smell do not correspond to the ideal at all. Therefore, experienced housewives are looking for solutions to this problem and increasingly resort to the method of freezing vegetables. Today we will look at how to freeze the tomatoes for the winter in the freezer fresh and then what can be prepared from them.

Advantages of the method

There are many positive points in freezing tomatoes:

• saving money in the winter;
• preparation in various ways that allows to use them in various dishes;
• maximum conservation of nutrients;
• the smell and taste characteristic of fresh fruit is not lost;
• convenience of use of preparations, on condition of the correct packing;
• simplicity and minimal time and labor costs in preparation for freezing.

Selection of suitable fruits

The guarantee of quality blanks is the right choice of product for freezing.

When choosing fruits you need to pay attention to the fact that they were fleshy, but not very juicy. Preference is better to give middle-ripe tomatoes, but not overripe, so they will not be as dense as needed. The “cream” of the “Novice” variety is considered to be ideal for freezing.

Its preparation can be carried out until the beginning of November. It harmoniously combines all the characteristics that are ideal for freezing: taste, density, fleshy. Given that the shape of this variety is oblong, it is very simple and convenient to cut.

Kitchen tools

To make the harvesting of fruits in different forms, you must stock up some cooking utensilsthat will help the process and simplify the task of preparing the product for freezing:

• knife, having notches on the blade. It is with the help of such a knife that you can ideally chop the tomatoes, while not crushing them, which will allow you to keep all the juice inside the slices;
• plastic tray for placing blanks for freezing in the freezer;
• a container for storing tomatoes, for example, a plastic container or plastic bags;
• paper towels to dry the tomatoes after washing;
• freezer to freeze;
• kitchen board to cut tomatoes;
• deep bowls for intermediate storage of products prepared for freezing.

Tomato preparation

Preparing tomatoes for freezing is quite simple. When you have chosen the right fruits, wash them thoroughly under cold running water and wipe with paper towels so that they absorb all the water that will interfere with the normal freezing of the product.

Freezing methods: step-by-step recipes

Tomato - a product that can be used in various dishes, as a whole or in a ground form, and in the form of tomato puree. Therefore, we consider step by step instructions for preparing tomatoes for freezing in various ways.

Whole fruits

The easiest and fastest way to freeze is harvesting whole vegetables, but consider whether it is possible to freeze whole tomatoes in the freezer. Like any other vegetables, whole tomatoes can be frozen: after defrosting, they will be no worse than fresh ones.

To harvest fruits for the winter in this way, it is recommended follow instructions:

1. Small or medium-sized tomatoes, previously washed and dried, should be laid out on a tray. An important nuance of freezing in this way is that the tomatoes should be laid out in one layer.
2. Next, the tray is sent to the freezer to freeze the fruit.
3. After the tomatoes are well frozen, you need to decompose them into containers or packages, it is desirable to create a kind of vacuum for them, removing all the air. Of course, it will not be possible to do this with a container, but you can experiment with a plastic bag.
4. Send the received blanks to the freezer.

There is also a way to freeze tomatoes that have been previously peeled.

In order to make blanks in this way, follow instructions:

• selected tomatoes should be well washed and make a cross-cut on the top of the fruit;

• After boiling water, it is necessary to put the tomatoes in boiling water so that the liquid completely covers the fruit;
• in boiling water, tomatoes are kept for about a minute, then quickly transferred to ice-cold water and kept for about 10 seconds;
• then you should quickly remove the tomatoes from the water and remove the skin, which you can gently pry with a knife;
• peeled tomatoes should be laid out in one layer on a tray, having previously covered it with cling film, and sent to the freezer for freezing;
• It is important to ensure that tomatoes do not touch each other, as they can stick together, and with this you can not do anything;
• After complete freezing, the billet must be placed in a container or bag, tightly closed and sent to the freezer for storage.

Circles

Billet circles is very convenient for pizza lovers. To make the workpiece in this way, you must:

1. The washed and dried tomatoes are cut into a circle with a sharp toothed knife so that their thickness is within 0.7 mm.
2. Cover the tray with cling film or parchment paper, arrange the sliced ​​tomato circles so that they do not touch each other.
3. Prepared blanks are placed in the freezer for 2 hours. It should be remembered that each of the freezers is different, and it is necessary to control the degree of freezing of tomatoes by yourself.
4. When complete freezing has occurred, the blanks should be placed in containers or plastic bags, tightly closed or tied and sent to the freezer for further storage.

Slices

It is very convenient when you have chopped tomatoes in the freezer, which you can just get out of the freezer and add to the dish without any preliminary processing, saving time and effort.

Therefore, consider how freeze tomatoes for the winter pieces step by step:

• in order to freeze the tomatoes in this way, one should pick up the most pulpy fruits that will contain a minimum of water;
• well washed and dried tomatoes should be cut into cubes;
• further it is necessary to prepare small containers or plastic bags;

• if you plan to freeze pieces without peel, they should be processed in the manner described above (pour over boiling water);
• Prepared cubes are packaged in bags or containers and sent to the freezer for freezing and storage.

Tomato Puree

This method is the only one where absolutely any tomatoes can be used, preferably even so that they are sufficiently juicy. The use of overripe fruit is also permitted.

Will consider step-by-step instructions for making tomato puree for freezing:

1. Tomatoes should be well washed, peeled and cut into pieces to make it easier to scroll through a meat grinder or chop with a blender.
2. The resulting mashed tomatoes should be poured into plastic containers, tightly closed and sent to the freezer.
3. It should be borne in mind that the liquid can expand in the process of freezing, so you should not add puree to the edge of the container.

There is also an interesting way of making mashed potatoes in ice packs. To do this, pour tomato puree in molds, wait until it is completely frozen, then transfer the cubes into a bag or container and send it to the freezer for storage.

In this form, mashed potatoes can be conveniently used by simply removing the required number of cubes from the package.

How much can you store

The shelf life of frozen tomatoes depends on the temperature in the freezer. If it is lower than -18 ° C, then the shelf life of tomatoes will be 10 months. If the temperature in the freezer is higher than this, the shelf life of the blanks will decrease and will be about 4 months.

How to defrost

Tomatoes that were frozen completely should be removed from the freezer and kept at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Completely during this time, the tomatoes do not melt, but become softer, which will allow them to be used for cutting in various ways. If you plan to use whole tomatoes for a salad, then they are not recommended to be thawed: in this case, you must chop the tomatoes into thin slices and add them to other vegetables before serving the dish to the table.

If you freeze the tomatoes in circles, then thawing them is not recommended, because after defrosting they are deformed and lose their attractive appearance.

It is also worth doing with diced tomatoes. They are added only during cooking, without defrosting.

Tomato puree can also not be thawed, but add frozen food during cooking. There are cases when the puree is required to be defrosted, for example, when cooking sauces, in which case it can be placed in a refrigerator or put on the table to be defrosted at room temperature.

What can you cook

Frozen tomatoes are often used for various dishes, so consider what to do with them and what culinary masterpieces can be cooked.

Frozen blanks will be useful for soups, stews, saute, pizza, sauces, baked dishes. In general, you can use frozen tomatoes in the same way as in the case of fresh tomatoes - everything is limited only by your imagination and the amount of frozen product.

Thus, it is quite simple to freeze tomatoes in the freezer, the main thing is to take into account some nuances when choosing a product and follow the recommendations described in this article in order to simplify the process of preparation and freezing of tomatoes as much as possible.