Freezing Tomatoes

By the request of Army Wife, my directions for freezing tomatoes.

Start with ripe tomatoes.
It helps if you have a neighbor with an overflowing garden.
If not, check farmer's markets or other outlets for fresh produce.

Set a pan about half full of water and start it simmering.

Wash tomatoes and fill sink with cold water.
















Blanch tomatoes for 30 - 60 seconds in simmering water.
This will help release the skins.
Take out of hot water and put in cold.
I generally drain them after they've cooled off - it only takes a couple minutes.

Take the skins off - they should slide right off. Take out the stem.















Dice tomatoes and put in freezer bags.
I use the quart bags and put in 4 cups of tomatoes.

Last night, I tried something different as well - I pureed tomatoes in the blender and then put them in bags.















Lay flat to freeze.
I ended up with one bag of diced and 3 1/2 bags of pureed.

That's it. Pretty easy and the only problem may be freezer space...