How to freeze tomatoes for the winter: delicious preparations in different recipes

There are several ways to freeze tomatoes for the winter: they store well both whole and in pieces, rings, in the form of puree and even juice. An interesting idea is to prepare semi-finished products from whole tomatoes stuffed with different fillings. Tomatoes allow you to experiment, especially if the farm has a modern freezer.

Selection of tomatoes and the subtleties of freezing

Any types of tomatoes can be stored in ice: red, yellow, cherry, etc. You should not freeze only green tomatoes: they contain a lot of solanine and are only suitable for canning. Ripe tomatoes should be intact, without mold spots or traces of pests. Overripe tomatoes will not store well. Fleshy varieties with dense rather than watery pulp are preferred.

What to cook
Thawed tomatoes do not always make pieces for salad; it all depends on the temperature and quality of the freezer. But you can always preserve soup dressing, stew pieces, pizza rings and French-style meats this way.

The shelf life of frozen tomatoes at standard temperature settings is 10-12 months, but the longer the shelf life, the less nutrients remain.

Benefits of freezing:

freezing tomatoes will save your budget, since winter products are many times more expensive;
the preparation will be much healthier than greenhouse tomatoes, which have practically no taste - if properly frozen, all the vitamins will be preserved in the fruits, they will remain just as tasty and aromatic;
to store in the freezer you don’t have to use sugar, salt, brine, etc.;
Another advantage is saving time. Tomato preparations quickly thaw and are used to prepare many dishes.

The downside is that a frozen tomato loses its shape. Most often, in the future, such a product is used for heat-treated dishes.

Whole frozen

The easiest way to freeze tomatoes is to freeze them whole. They will take up a little more space, but the preparation time will take a minimum.

Whole tomatoes are frozen in the following way:

Rinse the fruits and dry well.
Place them in portions in bags.
Additionally, freezing is not necessary, since the thick skin will prevent the fruits from sticking together.
Tie the bags tightly and store them.
Cherry tomatoes are even easier to preserve whole. Thinness - it is recommended to prick them slightly so that the skin does not crack.

Advice
If you grow tomatoes on your own plot, then pick the fruits just before freezing. This way they will retain much more vitamins.

Use turbo freezing so that the fruits do not freeze gradually from the edge to the center, but immediately and completely. It is the shock mode that allows you to preserve tomatoes in their original form.

Rings

The method, or rather the form, of freezing tomatoes is chosen depending on further goals. Some recipes call for the use of tomatoes cut into rings. These are different types of pizza, puff pastries, moussaka, French meat.

How to make freezing rings:

The most pointed parts should be cut off from washed and dried fruits.
Carefully cut the fruit into rings about 0.5 cm thick. Use a sharp knife to avoid damaging the flesh.
The rings need separate freezing, otherwise their flesh will stick together, and instead of circles you will get an unshaped mass. Place the tomatoes on a flat dish with cling film and leave in the freezer for several hours.
Stack the fully hardened circles and place them in bags or containers. Try to form several convenient portions so that each of them fits into one dish.

The magazine purity-en.htgetrid.com reminds: sign containers and bags to identify the product lying there. Indicate the expiration date, this will help you remember to use the freezer in a timely manner. You can’t eat expired food, it risks food poisoning.

Advice
Peeling tomato circles for pizza is a matter of taste. Some people quite like the elastic parts; they allow the pulp not to spread during baking.

Pieces

Tomatoes in pieces are frozen without skins, since they are usually used in dishes where only the pulp is needed. It is very difficult to remove the skin from a raw tomato, but after scalding it comes off quickly. Just keep the fruits in boiling water for a couple of minutes, cool slightly and peel off the shell.

Now that the tomatoes are peeled, cut them into convenient pieces: slices, cubes, strips, etc.

The slices will have to be frozen, just like the circles in the recipe above. After this, they are ready to go into portioned bags and go for long-term storage.

Keep only well-tied bags and closed containers in the freezer. Tomatoes can become damp and saturated with foreign odors, which means they will become completely tasteless.

Tomato puree and juice

Freeze tomato puree does not require any additives. This method will preserve the natural taste of the product 100%. Another advantage is that freezing in the form of puree is suitable for all varieties, even the juiciest ones.

Recipe for tomato puree in the freezer:

Wash the tomatoes and scald with boiling water, remove the skin.
Slice the fruits a little and put them in a blender or grind them in a meat grinder.
For a uniform consistency, if desired, rub the pulp through a sieve.
Place the puree in portions in containers, cups, or you can use trays for freezing ice.
Store the puree in containers or frozen blocks. After the mass freezes, remove everything from the molds and pour into a common bag.

Tomato juice is frozen in the same way as puree, but you will need a juicer to obtain it.

Advice
Don't forget to cover the cups of puree with cling film or place them in a bag.

Stuffed tomatoes

Only dense fruits are suitable for this method, since their walls must withstand the filling. Cut off the top of the tomato and remove the pulp with a spoon, leaving it around the edges so that the walls are not too thin.

How to fill the vegetable pot:

minced meat;
minced meat with rice boiled until half cooked;
rice with mushrooms;
vegetable mixture with herbs.

Stuffed tomatoes should be cooked within 2-3 months.

Defrosting rules

Repeated freezing is prohibited: this will spoil the tomatoes. Make sure there are no temperature changes in the freezer.

To add pieces to the salad, you don’t have to wait until they are completely defrosted. The same applies to whole fruits. Keep them first in the refrigerator, and then warm for 15 minutes and cut.

Most often, defrosting is followed by heat treatment - boiling, stewing, baking and frying. For this, the shape of the tomato pieces is not so important, except that the integrity of the tomato rings should be preserved. Do not throw tomatoes into boiling water as soon as you take them out of the chamber. Let them melt a little.

Use tomato preparations in a variety of dishes. Whole fruits can be cut and added to a salad; the pieces can be used to make stews, goulash, or put into soups, omelettes, and various casseroles such as lasagna. Tomato puree is delicious for seasoning meat and fish soups. Home freezing is several times cheaper, more convenient and tastier than what stores offer us in winter.