Cold hardiness is more complicated than you might think. It's one thing if the plant has been growing under cool conditions to experience some degree of "cold" and another thing to go from a warm kitchen to the outside in a matter of seconds--especially if the plant is in a growth or flowering cycle. Still, the Meyer's should be okay once your temps are stabilized between 60's (day) and 40's (night). My citrus overwinter in a cold garage and are more acclimated to chilly conditions already--so mine go out once temps stabilize above freezing (32 F)--and they've been out since late March. Once you do put them out, select a site protected from excessive sun, wind, and even RAIN. After a week or so of shade & wind protection, you can move them in a sunnier /more exposed location. Once they are acclimated, provide the sunniest location you have. If you do experience the occasional, freakish late frost--I wouldn't panic unless temps drop into the upper 20's (especially if only for a single night).

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

I have sucessfully dried potatoes. They get peeled and sliced, and then a dip in a solution of water and sodium metabisulfite. The sulfur dip helps to prevent them from turning black during drying. Mine were just placed in boiling water and allowed to simmer until they rehydrated and were tender. Some people even partially cook them and then dry them, which also seems to help prevent the blackening. The baking spuds can also keep very well in the refrigerator and will not usually spoil for quite a long time, like after 4 months or more.

I also dehydrate foods in my old Harvest Maid. I love it, it has a fan and a temperature setting, 9 large trays and it's great for making yogurt too. I get my dehydrating information from the Ball Blue Book and from Michigan State University's web site, Preserving Food Safely. I do freeze eggs, but I beat up two, put them into a separate container and use them for baking. I don't freeze milk because of that change in texture mentioned above. I like some things frozen and some things canned. I always blanch and freeze asparagus, then I thaw it, put it on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it, just like fresh asparagus. It's pretty darned good (although not as good as fresh, LOL). I also freeze corn, but I can carrots and beans. I freeze celery and peppers, usually already chopped and measured, to use in salsa, Habanero Gold jam, chili, etc. I don't care for stuffed peppers but my stepmom tops and cores them and stacks them, one inside another, for stuffed peppers. She takes them out frozen, stuffs them and bakes them. I freeze french fries by the tens of pounds, and I've chopped and frozen onions but even double bagging them the whole darned freezer smelled like onion. I would think shallots would be the same, but maybe if you have a foodsaver it would help with the aroma. I dehydrate onions and shallots since Craftyrn sent me a jar of dehydrated onions and I found how handy they were! I freeze swiss chard and collard greens, just steam them and freeze them in ziplock bags. I even freeze sliced green tomatoes to fry in the winter and I grate extra zucchini and pack that into ziplock bags for zucchini bread in January. Oh, and welcome to the Cooking Forum. You might try checking at Harvest too, lots of canning/freezing/drying/sausage making going on over there! Annie