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Local farmers are currently dumping tomatoes with about 0.5EUR per kg. It is a very low price. I know how to branch small things but tomatoes are large. The video here mentioned to use C-vitamin against the enzymes and sugar against crystallization. It also instructed to cut larger fruits into pieces to increase the area. Does it work with tomatoes with so much juice?

Is it possible to freeze them for winter and how?

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    Tomatoes are one of the foods which responds best to canning. Frost (even fridge temperatures) robs them of flavor. Why would you want to freeze them at all?
    – rumtscho ♦
    Jul 30, 2011 at 23:18
  • More specifically, a frozen tomato defrosted will be in slightly worse shape than a bottled/canned tomato. Preserving them uses less energy than freezing for months
    – TFD
    Jul 31, 2011 at 10:37
  • @TFD: yes but what about if my freezer is empty? This video mentions that "Now unlike refrigerators, freezers work best when they are full. " so I think it is good idea to add heat sinks such as tomatoes. I get two things at the same time: heat sinks against possible power shortages and cost cuts. Canning tomatoes is probably more costly than using freezer or is it? Something wrong with my plan? I am not worried about shape, I think I will add some C-vitamin and sugar against enzymes and crystallization.
    – user2954
    Jul 31, 2011 at 13:39
  • If you don't have the freezer space, you can also oven dry them to get something closer to sun-dried tomatoes that you can use through the winter. As you cut them up, you'd also be able to deal with the larger tomatoes which aren't going to freeze was quickly as their smaller cousins.
    – Joe
    Aug 1, 2011 at 15:06

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When I freeze tomatoes, the main thing I worry about is getting the skin off. To do this, score the bottom with an X, then blanch. After cooling in ice water, pull the skin off. I haven't ever worried about the details you mention, or about cutting them up, and I have had great success.

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  • what do you do with the juice of tomatoes? Do you drink it or do you freeze it with tomatoes? Why do you take the skin off? What is the X for?
    – user2954
    Jul 30, 2011 at 21:59
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    The X is to get the skins off easier. If you don't remove the skins, when you (eventually) cook with them, the skins will peel themselves off and you'll have a thin red inedible roll in whatever you are cooking.
    – Tremmors
    Jul 30, 2011 at 23:33
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    Freeze the tomatoes whole, so the juice is included.
    – michael
    Jul 31, 2011 at 2:39
  • Peeling tomatoes was the topic of an older question, and in it, Knives mentioned freezing then peeling when thawing
    – Joe
    Aug 1, 2011 at 15:03
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Freezing tomatoes is way less work than canning them, so we used to do it when I was a child. I find that it's more work to use them, though, so I personally like to can excess tomatoes. I used to have an August or September canning weekend with a friend and we would put away bushels of them!

Freezing as it was done in my house was trivially easy. Put the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. Later, when they are hard like billiard balls, put them into a zipper bag and reclaim your cookie sheet. To use them, add them to something like spaghetti sauce or chili where they will defrost and fall apart into the sauce. Mushiness was kind of a feature. If that's not what you use tomatoes for, consider canning instead. But if it is, relax and do it the easy way.

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    I freeze them the same way, but you forgot the easy way to remove the skins. When it is time to use them, run them under warm water and slide the skins off. Then toss them in the soup or sauce.
    – thursdaysgeek
    Aug 2, 2011 at 23:04
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I have had good luck with freezing tomatoes if I roast them in the oven first. Cut into bite-sized pieces and roast them with a bit of olive oil in the oven for between one-half and three hours, depending on temperature. (Smitten Kitchen recommends three hours at 225F. Ina Garten recommends half an hour at 450F.) You can also add some salt and pepper and some garlic as you roast.

Either way, the cooking changes the texture of the fresh tomatoes enough that you don't need to worry about the mushiness you'll get from freezing -- they're already mushy. It also concentrates the flavor and reduces the size. And if you're like me and have never canned ANYTHING, this is no trouble. Once they're cooked, freeze them on cookie sheets and then dump into a zippered plastic bag. You can pop them into everything from chili to sauce to stir fries.

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I freeze whole tomatoes in freezer bags after harvest. It is easier than canning, drying and freeze-drying. But because it will have a mushy texture, I only use it in spaghetti sauce, chilis, soups and stews. The skins slip off easily after slightly defrosting. No need to slit skin before freezing, as the skin will split on its own when frozen.

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