I have been growing and freezing my own organic tomatoes for years. The only method I knew to peel the tomatoes was to steam them, pull the skins off and then put the tomatoes into freezer bags. It was a hot, messy job, especially in midsummer.
Recently, I decided to see what would happen if I cut out the stem and threw the tomatoes whole into freezer bags. This turned out to be a great idea.
Putting the tomatoes whole into the freezer saved time and energy at the hottest time of the year. When I was ready to use my frozen tomatoes, I ran a little warm water over them, and the skins slipped off easily. Best of all, these tomatoes had absorbed less water, so we got more pure tomato and tomato flavor from each bag.
Molly Peyman
Glenn Dale, Maryland