Fresh produce can go off in your refrigerator in the blink of an eye, and you can end up wasting food if you’re not careful.
If you find yourself with copious tomatoes from your garden and you’re curious to find out how to freeze tomatoes whole without blanching them beforehand, you’re in the right place.
In this article, I will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to freeze tomatoes whole without blanching them first, as well as covering some benefits and negatives of freezing tomatoes.
Keep reading to find out more.
No one likes chucking away good food, especially when you’ve gone to the effort of growing your own tomatoes in your vegetable patch.
Any gardener knows how disheartening it can be when produce becomes too soft and starts to go moldy simply because you can’t get through it quick enough. After all, there’s only so many tomatoes you can eat in a week!
Many people are often put off the thought of freezing whole tomatoes, as they believe that you have to blanch them beforehand. However, this isn’t true at all!
To avoid having to chuck away your tomatoes, make sure that you follow the method below on how to freeze tomatoes whole with no blanching.
A Guide On How To Freeze Tomatoes Whole With No Blanching
Equipment You Will Need
- A baking sheet
- A sharp knife
- Freezer bags
- Plastic wrap
- A pen
- A dish towel
- A colander
Step One – Thoroughly Clean Your Tomatoes
When you first bring your tomatoes home from the market or store, the first step is to give them a proper clean.
Place your tomatoes into a colander and give them a good rinse under running water.
Step Two – Dry Your Tomatoes
Next, you will need to thoroughly dry your tomatoes with a clean dish towel. This is essential before you place them into the freezer, as you don’t want the water to freeze on their skins.
Step Three – Prepare Your Tomatoes
Once you have dried your tomatoes, you will need to prepare your tomatoes by cutting off the stem and core. Alternatively, you can just remove the stems with your fingers.
Step Four – Place The Tomatoes On A Baking Sheet
Next, you will need to place on a baking sheet, skin side down ready for the freezer.
Make sure that you spread your tomatoes out on the baking sheet, as you don’t want them to stick together.
Step Five – Place The Tomatoes Into The Freezer
Before placing your tomatoes in the freezer, you will need to cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. Once they are covered, freeze them.
Step Six – Place the tomatoes into freezer bags
Once your tomatoes have been allowed to freeze, it’s time to place them in freezer bags. Make sure that you label the freezer bags with a pen, so you know when you first placed them into the freezer.
Step Seven – Remove Excess Air From Your Freezer Bags
Next, you need to remove any excess air from your freezer bags. You can do this either with a vacuum sealer or the straw method.
To use the straw method, you will need to insert a straw halfway into a freezer bag and seal the bag while you are squeezing out as much of the air in the bag as possible.
Take your straw, and start to suck the air out of your freezer bag until it begins to enclose tightly around the whole tomatoes. Once you have reached this stage, be sure to remove the straw and seal up the bag properly.
Step Eight – Place The Bags Of Tomatoes Into The Freezer
Place bags in the freezer. Place them in a freezer container for extra precaution.
A Guide On How To Defrost Whole Frozen Tomatoes
Step One – Remove The Tomatoes From The Freezer Bag And Defrost Them
When you’re ready to use the tomatoes, remove the tomatoes from the freezer and allow them to thaw completely.
Alternatively you can place your frozen tomatoes under running warm water. Once they have defrosted, the skins should peel right off without too much trouble.
Step Two – Use The Frozen Tomatoes As They Are
If you don’t mind having the skins in your recipes, you can also place the frozen tomatoes into your recipe without having to wait for them to defrost.
While some people are fussy about the skins, others don’t mind, as the tomato skins provide more nutrients to the dish that you are cooking.
Step Three – Use The Tomatoes In Your Recipes
Place the tomatoes directly into your soups, stews, and pasta dishes!
Notes On Using Frozen Whole Tomatoes
Frozen tomatoes will last in the freezer for up to six months. Up until this point, you can chuck them into a variety of different recipes.
The type of tomato matters when it comes to freezing them, so it’s important to be mindful of this when you’re freezing a large batch of whole tomatoes.
For instance, beefsteak tomatoes contain more juice than other types of tomatoes, and will therefore disintegrate and won’t hold their shape once they have defrosted. Roma tomatoes, on the other hand,
can be sliced and will hold their shape more once they have defrosted, making them more suitable for home freezing.
To save time, you can also freeze tomatoes straight from your garden unwashed, without removing the stems beforehand.
However, only do this if you’re not planning to use them straight out of the bag once defrosted. As it’ll take a little prep work when you come to use them for your recipe.
Benefits Of Freezing Tomatoes
Freezing Tomatoes Minimizes Food Waste – Sometimes you can be overwhelmed with fresh produce, especially when it comes to growing your own vegetables in the vegetable patch in your backyard.
As a result, freezing tomatoes can be excellent for helping to prevent unnecessary food waste. After all, there’s no point in wasting perfectly good veg if it can be helped!
Whole Tomatoes Are Perfect For Various Recipes – Frozen whole tomatoes are great for a variety of different recipes, from winter soups, stews, bolognese, and of course, warming chili!
Freezing them allows you to enjoy the fresh taste of sun-ripened tomatoes for six months of the year!
You Can Freeze Tomatoes Whenever – If your garden is overwhelmed with too many tomatoes, you can actually freeze tomatoes during any stage.
In fact, green tomatoes make a wonderful addition to soup and salsas, as they offer a slightly different taste to beautifully ripe tomatoes.
Negatives Of Freezing Tomatoes
The Type Of Tomato Matters – As I’ve mentioned, some tomatoes contain more juice than others and therefore don’t hold their shape once they have been frozen and defrosted.
As a result, you might find that you should only freeze certain types of tomatoes, and others are better to eat fresh in order to keep the integrity of your tomatoes intact.
Freezing Whole Tomatoes Can Crowd Your Freezer – Freezing whole tomatoes can take up a lot of space in your freezer, especially when it comes to freezing the tomatoes on baking sheets.
Some people might not have access to a large or chest freezer, meaning this can be highly inconvenient if you don’t have much room.
In Summary
Hopefully after reading this article you know how easy it is to freeze tomatoes whole without blanching them beforehand!
Freezing tomatoes is a great way of preventing food waste from occurring on a regular basis, and also means that you can enjoy homegrown, sun-ripened tomatoes from your garden all year round!
Good luck freezing your whole tomatoes and have fun experimenting with the various recipes that they complement perfectly.
