24 hours would be my best guess. Then several hours to thaw.

Just to clarify, freezing them "just to peel" isn't an efficient use of time since you can easily have them all peeled, canned, and stored in the time it takes to freeze and thaw them.

The big advantage to freezing them is saving the fruit until you are ready to can them. The peeling ease is a secondary benefit. So I get both benefits if I just throw multiple bags of them (cored and bad spots removed) into the freezer.

But you have to have ample freezer space to make that work to your advantage. If you don't have the freezer space then I don't see how you gain anything.

Dave

I gain some time to do other things while they're freezing/thawing. Plus easier/quicker to peel that way? Not to mention safer instead of standing over the stove blanching them just to peel, and burning myself to boot! And as you say they can wait another day -but after 24 hours are they going to be mushy when thawed?

I did cut up the box of the "ASAP" ones I've had hanging around a few days and put a gallon bag in the freezer this AM, spent the time since then unpacking the truck and getting "stand" set up in the garage, started thinning my strawberry bed. Just came in for lunch. So I think that's an efficient use of time.

But if these aren't going to be good for salsa, only for sauce, then I'll leave them in the freezer as long as I have room and do the blanching method tonight or tomorrow for salsa with another box I culled yesterday (and maybe more on Sunday if I don't sell (m)any more by then).

Thanks - I froze tomatoes for the first time last year, and whenever I used them this year in the slow cooker they released a LOT of water (of course they were all beefsteaks, this year I have a lot of paste tomatoes), more than they would have peeled fresh, so I don't want to repeat even if I did have the freezer space.

Isn't the taste different with freezer tomatoes after freezing? I've often wondered this and thought I'd ask someone that does the freezing method.

I understand about getting other things done, I would do the canning on a rainy day that I wouldn't be able to 'do' things in the garden.

I only freeze tomatoes for sauce making. I tried a couple times to make salsa with previously frozen tomatoes, and did not care for the result - the tomatoes were mushy. Doesn't matter with sauce.

The blanching, cooling, and peeling - while time consuming - is the way to go for salsa - in my experience anyway.

>Thanks - I froze tomatoes for the first time last year, and whenever I used them this year in the slow cooker they released a LOT of water (of course they were all beefsteaks, this year I have a lot of paste tomatoes), more than they would have peeled fresh, so I don't want to repeat even if I did have the freezer space.

If you thaw them before you put them in the food, you can strain out as much of the juice as you want (I save it for stock).

You can even make it into tomato 'paste' without cooking, just by squeezing LOTS of water out :). Not the same taste, but useful in some recipes.

Other times, you can just dump the frozen chunk in and reduce other liquids in your recipe.

>Isn't the taste different with freezer tomatoes after freezing? I've often wondered this and thought I'd ask someone that does the freezing method.

If you don't blanch them first (I don't), then the flavor is closer to raw tomatoes than cooked.. until you cook them.

I am still trying to wrap my west coast ahead around the idea of canning salsa. Aren't the raw vegie flavors essential to the experience? Does anyone freeze it, instead? I know, I know... freezer space :).

Peeling tomatoes is very easy. Depending how much/how many, Bring water in a big pot to boiling at H heat. Dump in , say 10. Fish them out in about 15 to 25 seconds(or when you see first skin crack). Dump in cold/running tap water(No need to have ice water) . Let them cool a minute or two. peel them(wear robber gloves)

The rest of the work (cutting , coring) is routine.

P.S. freezing raw tomato, IMO, changes its texture and flavor, As does refrigerating. I think it has to do with the enzymes(!).

Yeah, I've done it countless times - usually about 6 at a time, not 10 b/c that's what fits in my Dutch oven. Still time-consuming when you're doing 10 lbs, still manage to burn myself sometimes when putting them in (splash) and the big ones are still hot in the middle when I peel them b/c I'm trying to get to the rest of the recipe before all the juice separates (b/c I'm using my one big pot to blanch them in and the rest are sitting in a 8C Pyrex measuring cup).

But since the frozen ones aren't good for anything but juice/sauce, I'll keep doing it the old way.

I cut up 2C of sweet peppers and 1/2C hot peppers last night before dinner so maybe tomorrow I can do salsa with fresh tomatoes while it's raining.

I use the boiling method when making salsa, but for the rest of the canning tomatoes, I freeze them. I buy 40-50 lbs of tomatoes at a time. Just put them straight in the freeze - though I usually core them first.

I only use slicers nowadays. They do give off a lot of liquid once heated. So I skim off the juice and can the juice separately. I then add the canned tomato liquid to soups or anything that calls for water but could benefit from a flavor boost.

I make tomato sauce crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and marinara sauce from the previously frozen tomatoes.

I find freezing so much easier than boiling water. Plus, if some family emergency arises right after you purchase 50 lbs of tomatoes, you don't have to worry about them rotting on the counter.

I did a bunch for a batch of salsa on Sat, but still have a lot that need to be used - culled through the ones in the garage yesterday. I have to see if there's room in the freezer after I take out another loaf of bread, freeze some (more, I still have the gallon from last week in there, and maybe a quart left from last year) and throw some in the slow cooker for sauce.

I still have sauce frozen from last year too, but can't can it b/c I don't remember now if I put oil or possibly some squash in it (I do have separate containers of ratatouille frozen). Same with clam chowder and lobster stock (milk in chowder, leftover melted butter in lobster stock). Not sure about the ham stock - I have a lot of very salty pan juices from the Easter ham. Time to make soup!

Frost advisory for tomorrow morning so this may be the last of the tomatoes - lots of green ones on the hybrids but nothing really has been breaking on the vines for weeks. I'll cover them with Remay tonight and hope for the best. Still have lots of paste tomatoes picked before the last 2 frost warnings ripening in the basement, but not too many beefsteaks left.

So how many cubic ft does 50 lb or tomatoes take up ;-)?

There are a lot of statements above that I'd have to take issue with but it all still boils down to the title of your post - are you freezing them JUST to peel or are you looking to preserve them and delay dealing with them at all now and do you have the freezer space to store them in for some time?

Using 50 lbs as an example - If you don't have the freezer space for 10-15 gallon bags of whole tomatoes then this whole discussion is moot. If your goal is simply to avoid hot water peeling then this whole discussion is moot as freezing gains you nothing.

Freezing and the peeling benefits it offers is only beneficial/efficient when it comes to a) preserving small amounts until you have enough to make full batches of whatever, or b)quickly preserving large amounts to keep them from going bad so they can be dealt with at a later time.

If you are only dipping 6 tomatoes at a time in hot water to peel then you need a major change in equipment and methods. A big stockpot with a basket or colander insert easily accommodates 15-20 tomatoes at a time. Into the boiling water all at once, wait 30-40 secs. lift it out and dump all into sink or dishpan filled with heavily iced water. Even a cooler filled with ice water works well for large batches. 10-15 min max to blanch and ice 50 lbs. of tomatoes.

If you are burning yourself from splash then you need a major change in your methods of putting them in.

If the cores are still hot when it comes to peeling them - even small ones - then they were left in the hot water far too long.

b/c I'm trying to get to the rest of the recipe before all the juice separates (b/c I'm using my one big pot to blanch them in and the rest are sitting in a 8C Pyrex measuring cup

Shows a distinct lack of proper equipment and methods. Before all the juice separates from what? It isn't juice, it is water that is supposed to be drained off anyway. Got a colander and a big bowl or cheap plastic dish pan for it to sit in?

The frozen ones, once thawed and drained, are good for everything. Even salsa IMO. Want salsa only from fresh tomatoes? Fine. Makes no difference in the salsa flavor but the frozen and thawed tomatoes can be used in anything else.

You never cook with frozen tomatoes since of course they will release lots of water. So will anything if it goes directly from freezer to cooking temps.

Dave

Originally I was just looking for how long to stick in the freezer just to peel them, since I knew that they would be mushy if I froze them for too long. I was joking about how much freezer space 50 lbs would take, b/c I would never freeze that many.

As far as equipment, no, I don't have much. My Dutch oven is 10" diameter and 6.5" deep, that's my main preserving pan that I use to cook everything down in, but also use it to blanch. I do have a deeper stockpot but never saw the benefit in using it to blanch since I don't have a large basin to chill the tomatoes in. Never thought of using a cooler - though it might be a bit hard to negotiate around it with the center island. I use my grandma's big mixing bowl to ice things down in.

As far as being hot in the middle, I just leave tomatoes in boiling water until I see the skin crack, then lift out with a skimmer (but I do tend to just drop them in the water rather than place on the skimmer and dip into the water). I don't usually splash much, it's more the boiling water (remember only 6" deep) splashing me, since I thought it had to be at a rolling boil to quickly blanch the fruit. And maybe I don't leave them in the ice water long enough, b/c I thought it would make them mushier the longer they sat.

I did just cook down all my ripe tomatoes, just washed, cored, cut out bad spots, and threw them in the pan, had to do 2 batches and run through the Foley in 3 batches b/c that's what fit - first full pan (didn't weigh) got 13C of puree/juice (following NCHFP instructions) that I put in slow cooker on Low while I did the last pan (7C), poured all together and it's filled my big oval Crockpot to the rim, just put it on High to reduce a bit, then I will get the 2 big burners (side by side in the front) on my stove going for the BWB (a 12 qt stockpot) and the 6 qt (?) Dutch oven - if I can reduce it in the slowcooker before putting back in the pan, then I can get the sauce to boiling in the Dutch oven, and jar it all up in 1 batch (reduced by half for "thick sauce" it should only be 5-6 pints which will fit in my old BWB).

@Dave:

>You never cook with frozen tomatoes since of course they will release lots of water. So will anything if it goes directly from freezer to cooking temps.

Do you mean that if you thaw them first, but don't drain them, they will release less? Or just that thawing incorporates draining?

As far as being hot in the middle, I just leave tomatoes in boiling water until I see the skin crack, then lift out with a skimmer (but I do tend to just drop them in the water rather than place on the skimmer and dip into the water)

That is too long. 30-40 sec. in the boiling water tops. The skin will crack in the ice water and even if it doesn't it still slips right off. Or you can just cut a X skin slice on the blossom end before putting them into the hot water if you want immediate splitting..

You need something like this. Or even better this one. Then one of these from Walmart.

Just as in woodworking, auto mechanics, or home repair - the right tool gets the job done right.

____________
Do you mean that if you thaw them first, but don't drain them, they will release less?

Yes. Because of evaporation, cell integrity, plus they drain some anyway while thawing just not as much. Same applies to meat or whatever. Ever throw a frozen roast in the oven without water showing up in the pan? Versus dry roasting of thawed meat? Slow thawing allows many of the frozen cells to remain intact rather than rupture as they do when exposed to heat.

But with tomatoes, when would you not want to drain them? Salsa calls for draining, sauce calls for draining to reduce cooking time, juice calls for some draining or some cooking down, etc.

Dave

I had tried using the Ball Discovery basket (still use it for beans) but tomatoes made a mess of it and it doesn't fit well in my mixing bowl with ice - the bowl's not deep enough (so I dump beans out of the basket to chill). I suppose I can use the (8? 10-qt?) stockpot as an ice water bath, still have to use the 6-qt Dutch oven for blanching b/c I think the ice water has to be deeper. Can the tomatoes sit in the ice water until all are done, since I have to blanch in batches?

Using the new Presto as a BWB right now since I wanted to do sauce in quarts and pint-and-a-half jars, it took over an hour to get it to a boil (with empty jars) and maybe half that time to get it back to a boil (never touching the burner, leaving it on High the whole time) after putting in 2 quarts, 1 pint+1/2, and a pint. I should have done all pint+1/2 instead of quarts but height is the same and now with DS running we use quarts more.

I still have to put the gauge and weight on and try the Presto as a PC with colored water - I didn't want to do tomato sauce first thing.

I think it is a matter of choice and convenience.
If you want to make paste, and are using one of them crusher/juicer machines that separated the pulp, there would be no need to peel. If you want to can whole for your own use again there is no need to peel.

Years ago, when I was doing tomato paste, I used to peel but then I by-passed it by straining cooked/blended batch(skin on) through a tight rice strainer. this separates not only the skin but also the tough core and most of the seeds too. I always do the same with the canned whole tomatoes that I buy from stores to make sauce. I always make my own spaghetti sauce from canned whole tomatoes this way.(First I get juice out (for cocktail))