Now that the frost is impending, it's time to harvest every last tomato. That means there will be pots and pans stuffed with the harvest and all sitting around the kitchen in the way. Of course canning them is my favorite way to keep tomatoes for the winter, but freezing is the quickest and easiest means of preserving that ripe, perfect flavor.
To freeze the tomatoes, Choose ones that are blemish free and firm. It is best to not use any tomatoes that are overripe (use them for sauce immediately-don't try to can them either), and not too underripe. Remove the stem and the small core that is just where the stem meets the fruit. This is the brown spot where the tomato was removed from the vine. Place the tomatoes into a freezer bag and remove the excess air as you seal the top. That's it! No peeling, no blanching, no more than a few minutes work for a winter's stock.
Tomatoes that have been frozen are wonderful for cooking, but they are not the same texture as when fresh. To make a smooth sauce, thaw your frozen tomatoes and then blend with a stick blender to finely blend the skins and flesh together. No one will know the difference and you will be getting the health benefits of the tomato skin in the final dish.
The University of Maine has a comprehensive video showing how to prepare and freeze fresh tomatoes. They use paste tomatoes in the video, which work very well, but use whatever variety you do have. You can remove excess juice from tomatoes before freezing to prevent your sauce being too watery. Simply remove the top of the tomato and squeeze the tomato over a bowl to remove the seeds and with them the excess juice. I hope you give this method a try. It's foolproof and ensures that you have plenty of delicious tomatoes available all winter long.
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