Preserving Tomato Questions

15 years ago

I've just made my second batch of Annie's Salsa (which we all love here) and I am done with that for the year. However, I anticipate a lot more tomatoes soon; any good ideas of what to do with them? My mom suggested just freezing them, but something more creative/interesting would be nice.

Note: I cannot pressure can them (due to limitations in my kitchen, I can't use the pressure canner) and I have small kids, so anything "too" spicy is out as well. Can I just make a small batch of tomato/spaghetti sauce? The last recipe I saw called for 30 pounds of tomatoes and, while I may have a lot, I WON'T have that many. THANKS!

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Comments (5)

zabby17
15 years ago
missemerald,

Why not do one of the spaghetti sauces from Ellie Topp's book---I think there are two in the "Greatest Hit Recipes for Leesa" thread.

One is called sthg like "Mulit-Use Seasoned Tomato Sauce" and I remember it was in a post from Carol. Another is called "Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce." Both are lovely, and the recipes call for small batches.

Zabby
P.S. The kids might enjoy helping you make (or at least eat!) some canned pizza sauce. I'm planning to can some seasoned with just garlic and oregano and a little salt (using Ellie's "Mulit-use sauce" slightly simplified), and cook it down nice and thick, for making mini-pizzas on pita, which we like for a quick lunch!
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digdirt2
15 years ago
I'm with your Mom - just core and freeze them whole. Then you can use them this winter to make anything you want to out of them. ;)

There are some good fresh-eating recipes in the discussion down the page called something like "good reason to freeze tomatoes..."

Dave
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dgkritch
15 years ago
This is a favorite here. You could freeze the soup or just make it and eat it now since it makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts.

Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup (2006, YUM!!!)
Recipe By :Katie C

12 tomatoes -- *see Note
2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces
1 large onion -- quartered
2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste)
olive oil
2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
cream -- to taste DO NOT CAN WITH CREAM.
Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick blender (or in small batches in a blender) until almost smooth. Add cream to taste. To can: Process in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for 70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000 ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft. *Note: These measurements are approximate...I use whatever it takes to cover the cookie sheet. This makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of soup.

Note: This is also a great "starting place" for soups, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce etc. all winter!!

If you freeze it, you can change the quantities as you wish!

Deanna
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cabrita
15 years ago
You can freeze them directly without peeling them (I just wash them). This works great if you are inundated by tomatoes and are in a hurry, you can postpone the creative process to later....the peels just slip right off and you can core later after thawing. Very easy and it works great. I like to separate the tomatoes, so when you need them you just grab as many tomatoes as you need from the freezer bag.

If you have time, I have made tomato based sauces and frozen them (Italian style, enchilada red salsa, Indian tomato curries). Just wait until the sauce is cool enough to handle and fill either quart or gallon zip lock bags. You can fill them so they are flat, carefully remove air from them. They stack nicely in the freezer this way. When you thaw them they might leak a little, so thaw in a bowl or container.

The taste of the frozen sauces is almost like the fresh version. When you can on the other hand the taste changes a little bit (so you have to spice your sauces more). This means you can use any favorite tomato recipes and the taste will not change.
Cabrita
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gran2
15 years ago
There are so many things to can with tomatoes that I get dizzy thinking about it. Small batches? How about beans with tomato sauce (like pork and beans only without the pork), tomato jelly, ketchup, barbecue sauce, spaghetti sauce, manwich sauce, pizza sauce, sweet and sour sauce (that's one of Linda Lou's great recipes on this site) . There's hot dog relish with green tomatoes, tomato soup to open on a cold winter day, and tomato based vegetable soup -- instant food! There's chili - with or without beans - and chili sauces, so many it will be tough to choose. Remember taco sauce and just plain tomato sauce or paste. Reducing that far down will require lots of tomatoes. I admit to using Ball and Mrs. Wages mixes, so I start with a pot of thick juice and add those seasonings and voila! instant product! I find the flavors very very good and fast. Have you decided yet?
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Preserving Tomato Questions

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zabby17

digdirt2

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