Using frozen tomatoes in salads.

Primrose

As a household which loves using fresh home grown tomatoes in salads of various sort and with a bumper crop waiting to ripen, the surplus of which will need to be frozen in some way, I,m wondering if anybody on here has some tips on how best to freeze them for this kind of use.

I of course do use some for making tomato pur!e for background sauces like Spag Bol but what i'm after is a magical way of still being able to enjoy our sun ripened tomatoes in December in various salads, rather than those tasteless ones bought from supermarkets in winter.

Any suggestions?

splishsplash

I think the problem is that tomatoes go a bit mushy when they thaw out after freezing.

Your best bet is to freeze a few at a time, whole and in a freezer bag with as much air taken out as possible. Then thaw out of the fridge at room temperature.

Farway

They'll always be squishy when de-frosted, like strawberries they are mainly water so however you freeze them they'll finish up mushy


I'm sure if it were possible to freeze toms that remained salad ready once defrosted you would be able to buy them from the likes of Birds Eye,as with peas

Mojisola

Dehydrate them instead of freezing?

RosyRed

If you search for drying tomatoes in the oven there are quite a few suggestions.I know they are a completely different item to fresh but frozen wouldnt be much good for salad I don't think. At least drying gives them a longer life and you could still eat in salads - olive oil and feta mmm

oystercatcher

I'm interested in this as I love growing tomatoes but am the only person who eats them as DH is very allergic. I normally freeze them and use in cooking. But I am wondering if we accept they won't be like fresh tomatoes could they be used mushy to make some sort of fresh tomato salsa ? Maybe chopped with herbs and other veggies (I can't eat onions but imagine this would be good for those who can ).

I'm a bit useless at cooking but I bet someone here could work something out.

Primrose

I thiughtnof oven drying them with a sprinkle of herbs and then possibly freezing them in small packets. If you try to add olive oil to the freezing process, or even in a cold fridge it tends to go opaque and semi solid until it thaws out.

My previous attempts to oven dry then cover with oils and store in jars unfortunately went mouldy and obviously I'm concerned about the risk of botulism.

buildersdaughter

Yes, they will be mushy & unpleasant, I second drying.
Another option is to part dry, then bottle in oil (look up bottling times - important to get it right). Sounds extravagant, but you an use the oil in cooking, so not wasted. The tomatoes are very flavourful and can be a garnish on a salad or add flavour to dishes.

buildersdaughter

Just seen the post about botulism - if you lookup bottling times and follow the correct procedure, you should be fine.

PipneyJane

Primrose wrote: »

I thiughtnof oven drying them with a sprinkle of herbs and then possibly freezing them in small packets. If you try to add olive oil to the freezing process, or even in a cold fridge it tends to go opaque and semi solid until it thaws out.

My previous attempts to oven dry then cover with oils and store in jars unfortunately went mouldy and obviously I'm concerned about the risk of botulism.

Did you sterilise the jars first? I've oven dried tomatoes before and stored them in the fridge, covered in olive oil for several weeks. (They were eaten quite quickly.) You need to leave them in a low oven overnight, until they're dry, but still pliable.

Also, I did a quick search on line for techniques and this website mentions: To be safer, many people pasteurize the jars at 175 ° F for 10 minutes. Although they don't mention how.

Another website, An Oregon Cottage, is more descriptive and ties in with what I've read previously.

HTH,

Pip

rach_k

If you're going to freeze them then use as a kind of salsa (I like the idea), I think I'd probably chop them roughly before freezing, drain off the excess water (perhaps keep it for something else) and then freeze them in thin layers so they're quick to defrost and use as needed. If you put a thin layer on a baking sheet, you could freeze, then snap into smaller pieces and bag them.

I expect they'd be a nice addition to a salad, either seasoned simply, or with added oil, garlic, herbs etc. They might also be nice on a cheese sandwich, if they're not too wet. Perhaps give it a go with a couple and see how you like them.