Question re freezing tomatoes.....

[islesgirl]

Hi dear rawbies. Oooh, I miss talking to you all here. Just haven't had any time all summer and will be busy into October, then maybe I will be around here more.

I have many tomatoes in the garden. We can't keep up with them. Is it okay to freeze them as is for my green smoothies? I don't see why not, but thought I'd ask. Thank you muchly.:D

Sue.

[Tina D]

I freeze them whole with the skins on as it's easier to peel if you want them peeled. I also juiced mine ans used the pulp as a tomato paste and froze the juice, I also made homemade sauce for my SAD husband and kids. Filled it up with a ton of veggies( mushrooms,eggplant,onion,peppers,zucinni) and barely cooked( 15 mins tops)it since I put it through the blender and it came out as if it was well cooked:)

[Veganforlife]

Good advice about freezing 'maters whole but cooking all the veggies15 mins tops? Cooked is cooked! blech! sorry but that's how I feel regarding cooked food...it's not food anymore...

[spicyfull]

You can also dehydrate them or dehydrate and make Sun Dried Tomatoe.

[RawKnitster]

Hi Sue, Lucky you having so many tomatoes! I like spicyfull's idea. I learned how to dry tomatoes at a demo last week. The key is slicing them 1/2" thick. I dried some and they came out unbelievably sweet. I bought another case of tomatoes which I will be slicing up and drying tomorrow. It takes 24-36 hours to dry them. Try a tray or two and see what you think. It is going to be great to have those little slices of summer to eat this winter.

[contessa20]

I froze bags and bags of extra tomatoes from our garden a couple of years ago and will never do it again. When they came out of the freezer they were a watery, mushy mess. I tried the following year slicing them in half and removing the pulp but they STILL came out watery and mealy with no flavor whatsoever. I even made vegetable soup out of them which was inedible to all 3 of us in my house.

This year I've just been dehydrating them and it has been the perfect solution.

[Shine]

Question on dehydrating them.....how?? Seriously though, do you slice them? De-seed them? Is there a better temp? I know dhydrating differs from place to place and machine to machine but am wondering if there are any general guidelines as I am super new to the dehydrating thing.

My large tomatoes are still green but I have cherries coming out of my ears and I don't want to lose them but can't eat everyday as I get cancker sores from too many nightshades.

[LotsaRaw]

I marinate sliced tomatoes (approx 1/2" or so) in garlic, ACV, OO, oregano, (whatever sounds good at the moment) for 4 hrs - overnight, place on dehydrator (not on teflex - just the med mesh sheets) and let them go until chewy. Store in jar in freezer - this way you know EXACTLY what went into your "sun dried tomatoes" :) YUM!!!

[islesgirl]

Mmm - I love the idea of dehydrating them, Knitster, and I also like the sound of marinating them overnight, dehydrating them and then freezing them. These suggestions are worth trying. Thank you girls.:) And I will still use the ones I freeze straight from the garden in my green smoothies - can't see how I can go wrong with that either. I'll let you know.:)

Sue.

[DebB]

I marinate sliced tomatoes (approx 1/2" or so) in garlic, ACV, OO, oregano, (whatever sounds good at the moment) for 4 hrs - overnight, place on dehydrator (not on teflex - just the med mesh sheets) and let them go until chewy. Store in jar in freezer - this way you know EXACTLY what went into your "sun dried tomatoes" :) YUM!!!

Wow LotsaRaw - this sounds amazing! I'll definitely give this a try as we've got tomatoes coming out our ears and I've been dehydrating them "plain". Thanks for sharing how you dehydrate them! *Ü*