Preserving the Harvest

I know that you are all enjoying the goodies in your boxes each week but sometimes it can get a little overwhelming this time of year.  I would like to encourage you to preserve some of the harvest that you are receiving, so that you can have a taste of summer in the dead of winter. Canning can be daunting...been doing it for decades and am still a little leary of the pressure canner. Freezing is a great alternative and can be very simple to accomplish. No special tools necessary. Just freezer bags and some time.  Here are a couple of suggestions and some links to get you started.

Tomatoes may be frozen whole, sliced, chopped, or puréed. Additionally, you can freeze them raw or cooked, as juice or sauce, or prepared in the recipe of your choice. Thawed raw tomatoes may be used in any cooked-tomato recipe. Do not try to substitute them for fresh tomatoes, however, since freezing causes their texture to become mushy.

Tomatoes should be seasoned just before serving rather than before freezing; freezing may either strengthen or weaken seasonings such as garlic, onion, and herbs.
It is possible to quickly freeze raw tomatoes without blanching them first. They may be frozen without their skins or frozen whole with their skins. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked foods such as soups, sauces and stews.

Tomatoes should be washed before cutting. To wash, wet each tomato with water, rub its surface, rinse it with running water, and dry it with a paper towel. After washing, cut away the stem scar and surrounding area and discard it before slicing or chopping the tomato.

Washing tomatoes in a sink filled with water is not recommended since contaminated water can be absorbed through the fruit's stem scar. The use of soap or detergent is neither recommended nor approved for washing fruits and vegetables because they can absorb detergent residues.
Dry them by blotting with a clean cloth or paper towels.

Freezing whole tomatoes with peels: Prepare tomatoes as described above. Cut away the stem scar. Place the tomatoes on cookie sheets and freeze. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Once frozen, transfer the tomatoes from the cookie sheets into freezer bags or other containers. Seal tightly. To use the frozen tomatoes, remove them from the freezer a few at a time or all at once. To peel, just run a frozen tomato under warm water in the kitchen sink. Its skin will slip off easily.

Freezing peeled tomatoes: If you prefer to freeze peeled tomatoes, you can wash the tomatoes and then dip them in boiling water for about 1 minute or until the skins split. Peel and then freeze as noted above.

After preparation as described above, simply put into a high quality freezer bag (don't recommend the use discount store bags...they are not reliable), remove as much air as you can and pop in the freezer.  I generally freeze two whole tomatoes per qt. bag, peeled and quartered. That is just enough to add a fresh taste to soups, stews, sauces, etc.

Simply Canning  also has a great section on freezing, dehydrating, etc.

~Suzanne