TOOOOO Many Tomatoes, Help Please

ceridwen

I'm growing LOADS of tomatoes this year and planning on bottling any that I have spare (to save myself on buying canned tomatoes).

I copied out a method for this:
- crush them
- cook with fresh basil and chives and a splash of cider vinegar
- put in jamjars (or similar jars - ie same type of seal) while warm
- the jars seal themselves shut as they cool

I haven't tried this method out yet - but it sounds like it would work to me - so that's the one I will be using if I get my planned surplus:D

ixia

Make bruschetta yum!

Primrose

Last year I grew lots of cherry tomatoes and simply froze them whole in those zip lock plastic bags, so that I could take a handful out whenever I wanted them. My favourite way of eating them was to thaw them slightly in the microwave and then cook them in a little olive oil until soft and serve with a rasher of grilled bacon. But they can be put into minestrone soup, caseroles or stirred into pasta as preferred.

Wee_Bargain_Hunter

What about chutney? I had loads of normal sized & cherry tomatoes last year & made them into a yummy chutney that we are eating now with salads & sandwiches etc.

Penelope_Penguin

BigBouncyBall wrote: »

(I *have* searched for this and didn't find any specific match, just before anyone merges this with a 1000+ post thread to be lost forever)

OK then - I'll add this thread to this one on what to do with tomatoes, that has fewer than 160 posts where it will mix happily with other posts on the same topic.

foxgloves

When we get a glut of home grown tomatoes in the summer, I make them into things to freeze, but in the end, I usually resort to just weighing them into 1lb bags & freezing them whole. They go mushy when you thaw them, but the skins slip off easily and I use them as I need them for making tomato soup, passata, pasta sauce, pasta bake, curry sauce or anything that would usually need tinned tomatoes.

Fang_3

I LOVE this thread. Will end up with thousands again this year!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I can eat half a pound of these a day - just by picking up and grazing on them. DD isn't much better - she prefers to eat a pound of strawberries in one, which, considering she is 4 foot 9 and weighs about 5 stone, is quite spectacular!

Fridayschild

last year, I devised a few new things to do with my toms as I had hundreds. I roasted lots on trays in the oven with olive oil and variety of extras from basil to garlic or mixed herbs. When roasted and cooled slightly, liquidize and then freeze for a really yummy pasta sauce.
I also made sun dried tomatoes (well actually oven dried) I made sure I filled the oven with lots of trays of halved tomatoes and put them on a low setting for about 8 - 10 hours. Again I added herbs to some before drying. After they are dried and cooled, I dipped each half in vinegar (to kill any lingering bacteria) before bottled in olive oil. I am on the last jar from last year now, and they are still absolutely delicious ...and of course you can use the oil they are stored in too!!
I am trying to cut down a bit this year, but will probably still have about 25 plants, all kept outdoors.

ceridwen

What ways do you keep spare tomatoes? - ie how to freeze them, how to bottle them, etc.

I've actually got some spare this year - so am hoping to preserve them and save myself on buying at least a few cans of tomatoes:D (you should see the price of organic canned tomatoes:().