Sammy - all the info you need can be found at NCHFP for starters. I'll link it for you below. Freezing them is no problem. I prefer to core them first since it is easier but it isn't required. You can do it when they thaw and you are removing the skins. As to how to make sauce - there are many ways to do it if you mean to use it for fresh eating - a blender work fine if you don't mind seeds in it or you can just cook it on top the stove after straining out the seeds. If you want to can the sauce after making it then another set of guidelines will apply so we need to know what your plans are. As the tomatoes thaw let them drain in a colander to remove much of the water. Roasting is another way and gives you a very different taste. Lots of recipes for making tomato sauce are also available over on the Cooking forums and Recipe Exchange forum. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato preserving instructions

Can i just chop n measure n freeze? Yes. Can i use cherry tomatoes? Yes but it is a different consistency. Can i also chop n freeze my bells n hot peppers? Yes. I spread them out on a cookie sheet to freeze a bit and then bag but if you pre-measure them you don't even need to do that. Would i drain before freezing or afterward? For salsa? Tomatoes - after thawing. do I need to peel tomatoes? It is recommended but is almost impossible with cherry tomatoes so many don't. Recommended because a) removes primary source of bacteria and b) gives better mouth fell and consistency without the peels. If you don't mind the bits of peel in the salsa then you can skip the peeling with cherries. As they thaw you'll find you can pick many of them right out anyway. The most important part of making salsa is using an approved and tested recipe. If planning to can it for shelf storage, that part is mandatory for safety. Dave

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

Mia, I have canned with a BWB pot on my glass cook top ever since we bought that stove, which was either 3 or 4 years ago. I haven't had any problem. Plenty of people do can on their glass cooktop. You can read a million back threads at the Harvest Forum where this topic has been discussed. I'd like to suggest you check your Owner's Manual for your cooktop. Mine clearly states that canning on the stove can void the warranty. I read that and thought long and hard about canning on the stove, but decided to do it anyway. I am not sure I'd do it with a heavier pressure canner, but I know lots of people who do. If your glass cooktop is still under warranty, and your owner's manual says that using a canner on it will void the warranty, there are other options. I imagine they are discussed in the document I'm going to link. Most BWB canners have bottoms with indentations so that they are not perfectly flat. This could be a problem if it interferes with the pan heating evenly and maintaining even heat for the duration of the timed canning period. I didn't find it to be a problem with my stove, but I have recently upgraded from my old BWB graniteware canner to the Ball Elite 21-quart stainless steel BWB canner and one reason why was because it has a flat bottom. I just always listened to the water boiling when jars were in the BWB canner because one potential with glass top stoves is that they self-regular their temperatue so the heat cycles on and off at times. That would be a problem if the canner water cooled down and stopped boiling, but I never had that happen when I was BWB canning. No, you cannot store the salsa for several days in the fridge because while it is stored, bacteria could be forming in it. Then, you'd have to boil it again, which is essentially cooking it twice, and that can make canned foods taste overcooked. If you want, you can make your salsa and freeze it, and you do not have to can it in the jars before your freeze it. Sometimes I freeze stuff in freezer jars (made by Ball, sold on the canning aisle, and are plastic), or in freezer boxes (also often sold on canning aisle, though usually sold out right now) made by Arrow (I have some with red lids and some with blue lids) or in freezer bags. The plastic freezer boxes made by Arrow have been sold out at our local Wal-Mart for a couple of months, but I found them on the canning aisle at our local Tractor Supply Store on Monday. The Ball Freezer jars, made of plastic, are on the canning aisle most of the time, but sometimes sell out on weekends, though they usually are back on the store shelves within a couple of days. Right now I have all 3 of those kinds of containers in my freezer with various kinds of produce in them. You can freeze in jars, then when you take the glass jar out, let the contents thaw, and keep it in the refrigerator, which is the same thing you'd do with salsa you'd canned instead of freezing. Or, you can do all your prep work with chopping the tomatoes and other fresh ingredients, etc., and freeze them in freezer boxes or freezer bags and then just take them out, thaw them, and mix them together with the other canned ingredients and spices when you're ready to make the salsa. OR, put your tomatoes in freezer bags and freeze them until you're ready to make salsa. Then, thaw them and use them when you're ready to make salsa. Right now I have 36 lbs. of tomatoes in my freezer waiting to be used for canning something. I put them in there one day earlier this week when I had too many tomatoes and too little available time to deal with them. I'm going to link some info on canning with glass top stoves or glass cooktops. When I went and found it, I noticed the folks who have that website have updated it for 2012, and also that there's an ad there for a canner just like mine. I put off buying the Ball Elite canner for so long, even though I wanted one, because it is so pricey. However, I've been using it about a month and I love, love, love it. I wish I'd bought it the first year it came out. Hindsight is 20-20. Now, I need to head back to the kitchen, where I'm making pizza sauce, tomato sauce and pickles. I'll check back here later to see if you have other questions. Hope this helps, Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Glasstop Stoves & Canning