Preserving the Tomato Harvest

It is peak tomato season! There are so many recipes that fresh tomatoes can be used in-salsa, salads, bruschetta, cucumber/tomato/onion salad, on burgers, on sandwiches, on pasta, the list goes on. So, what to do when you are eating tomatoes at every meal and still have them coming? It is time to preserve them!

I freeze, dry and can my excess tomatoes. Be sure to put the date and description on each freezer bag and quart jar. Use the oldest first and all within a year.

Right now, I prefer to freeze them because it is so hot that I don’t want to turn on any heat generators inside the house. For cherry type tomatoes, I just half them and throw them in a quart freezer bag and put in the freezer. For larger tomatoes, I slice then put them in freezer bags. They thaw much quicker this way. They will have a fresh taste when thawed and used for salsa, sauces, or chili.

When it cools, I start drying and canning. I just love “sun-dried” tomatoes right out of my own dehydrator. You can also dry on a cookie sheet at low temperatures in the oven.  You store your dried tomatoes in a quart jar to use until next year.

Only a water bath is needed for canning tomatoes because they are acidic. I use Weck’s canning jars. They are all glass so no worries about what is lining the lid. And they are a really pretty shape.  Make sure you follow a sauce recipe exactly as it is critical for keeping to the right acid level.

I throw the entire tomato (de-stemmed) into the food processor. Most recipes say to remove the peel and seeds so you don’t have a bitter taste, but I have not noticed any issue with bitterness.