Preparing Garden Tomatoes for Canning or Freezing.

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If you have a bumper crop of Tomatoes and can't eat them fast enough, canning or freezing is a great way to use them later in your favorite recipes.

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Here our Tomatoes are ripening in the windows. We had storms and many were falling off the vines.

So we ripen in the windows---still by the sun.

IF you dont' have time to do tomatoes or have enough for a canning session, I freeze them whole with the skins and stems still on them. When you need some for a project ---pop the whole frozen tomatoes into a sink of hot water. The skins slide right off. Core and use for cooking. They are just like fresh, though they break down faster in cooking. A great time saver. I've held tomatoes like this for over a year. We made Tomato Sauce in January---when we actually wanted the heat from cooking in the house, instead of now---when it is going to be 88 today.

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What you want to do is skin your tomatoes for canning or cooking. Leave the stems on and pop them into boiling water until the skins start to split. Anywhere from 1-3 min. 

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Here you can see the skins slipping off just from removing them from the pot with a tongs.

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Toss them into a clean sink of very cold water. 

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As soon as you can handle them, core the tomatoes and the skins should slide off. Drain.

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I add all the skins/cores to the scrap bucket to return to the compost pile, a GREEN thing to do.

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Our San Marzano only take a minute or so...and they just slip out of the skins and are so firm. I love to can these whole and fill jars with juiced tomatoes.

Skinned and cored Tomatoes are now ready for your favorite recipes. We can Tomatoes, make juice, and make Zuchinni in Stewed Tomatoes, make sauces for canning. Tomatoes are the most versatile of all the vegetables...and easy to can.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

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