[Livinhope]

Aw Pamela, what a shame.  It happened to us a couple of years ago when our big chest freezer went.  I had over 80lbs of chopped tomatoes in it for winter pasta and soups and over 40lbs of runner beans

Not exactly on topic, but how did you prepare your tomatoes for the freezer.

[mumofstig]

I've split this post off, so you get some answers

[tosca100]

I throw some in the oven with garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper whenever I have it on for something else. Then bag and freeze. Use them as they are as a sauce, or add to other sauces.

[plum crumble]

yum

I do much the same, but once out of the oven, I add to some onion which has been softened in olive oil, then sieve to remove pips and skin, add fresh basil, then freeze in portions. Makes wonderful "passata" which you can add to pasta on it's own, or put with mince to make a bolognaise, or spread on pizza base, or as base of a veggie soup.......yum!

[mumofstig]

I always skin my bigger toms before freezing in 'tin sized' portions.

But when I have way too many little toms I just pop handfuls into polybags. Then when I'm making a stew I just pop them straight in for a flavour boost

[GrannieAnnie]

I'm just lazy I'm afraid.  I either just chop the tomatoes into chunks, put them into freezer bags, just the cheap ones from the supermarket take the air out and tie up and freeze.

Then do whatever with them when defrosted.

[Livinhope]

No problem with moving.

I'm salivating.  I love toms and have far too many to cope with at the moment.  I did wonder whether just freezing as they come would make them appear frosted. 

I do like the idea of the olive oil and garlic.

Many thanks I shall go and pick todays offering later and start finding gaps in the freezers.

[Janeymiddlewife]

I'm with the others on this - life's to short to skin a cherry tomato  I just bung em straight in the freezer, then use them with pasta, frying them for a minute or two first

[plum crumble]

nah - I don't skin em!! Just cook em with everything as I said in my earlier post, then sieve before bottling/tubbing
easy and lovely

[Foghorn-Leghorn]

This isn't freezing but I like to dry my tomatoes out in the oven - cherry tomatoes work very well - just slice little toms in half, put skin side down on a baking tray and sprinkle liberally with salt (and possibly dried herbs if you want) and put them in a low oven for 3 or 4 hours.  Put them in clean, sterilised jars when still warm from the oven and cover with olive oil (making sure you get all the air bubbles out) and there you go - a kind of sun dried tomato which is great in pasta sauces, on bagels spread with cream cheese, etc.

[Livinhope]

Right, I quartered large toms and just stabbed cherry toms put in oven with garlic and sprinkled with olive oil.  Oh, the aroma.  Then when cool bagged the squidgy toms and bunged in the freezer.  I know for a fact you can't beat a spag bol made with fresh toms.

[Yorkie]

Oh to have toms that are red and thus could participate in this debate 

[Livinhope]

Oh to have toms that are red and thus could participate in this debate 

Is it that you have no toms or are they still green?    Mine are actually outsiders but they are very sheltered and have ripened very well.

If they are fully grown but still green I heard the other day that if you pick them and put them somewhere with a banana some enzyme in bananas will assist the ripening.  I suppose it's worth a try.

[GrannieAnnie]

Once chopped and frozen, when I put them in the freezer bags, I suck the air out so they are sort of vacuum packed, so they never look frosted.  But when they defrost, it seems to let more juice out too! 

My friend freezes them whole, but that takes up too much room  think!

[Livinhope]

Once chopped and frozen, when I put them in the freezer bags, I suck the air out so they are sort of vacuum packed, so they never look frosted.  But when they defrost, it seems to let more juice out too! 

My friend freezes them whole, but that takes up too much room  think!

I agree, freezing things whole takes a mass of room because of thegaps between.  Having followed the olive oil and garlic method I bagged the toms in portions that I know will either make the sauce for spag bol or tomato soup.  Very little room taken up in the freezer.