We freeze fresh tomatoes for the winter: simple rules. How to freeze tomatoes for the winter in the freezer fresh: whole, slices, mashed potatoes, for stuffing

Autumn is the time to make "tomato" preparations and dressings for sauces and first courses, for pizza and baking. How to freeze tomatoes, preserving to the maximum all the useful components of the vegetable? There are different ways. We offer the most simple and affordable.

How to freeze tomatoes in slices

Wash the tomatoes. Pat dry on paper towel. Cut into slices, no more than 1 cm thick.

Spread on a flat surface in a single layer. Send to the freezer for 1.5 hours.

Once frozen, store in a bag or container with a lid. Store in the freezer.

How to freeze mashed tomatoes

Cut the tomatoes into slices, put in a blender cup.

Puree until smooth.

Pour into molds and freeze.

Carefully remove the frozen tomato puree. Place in a slider bag or resealable container and store in the freezer, using as needed.

Freezing tomato paste

Divide the tomato paste into ice cube trays. Put in the freezer with a temperature not higher than -18 ° C for 1.5 hours.

Get it. Place in a plastic container or resealable bag. Store in the freezer.

Another option: Spread the pasta in portions on a flat surface.

Freezing time in the freezer - 1.5 hours.

Put the finished "tomato cakes" in a bag with a slider fastener and store. Use as needed.

Freezing tomato juice

Pour into a plastic bottle (glass breaks) with a resealable lid. Put in the freezer.

Or pour the juice into a plastic bag. Let the air out, tie it up and put it in the freezer for storage.

Freezing tomatoes for the winter is practical, vitamin, healthy and ... convenient.

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If you are wondering how to freeze tomatoes for the winter and whether they are frozen at all, this article will give a detailed answer. It's no secret that tomatoes are the product that you want to see on the table all year round. And it is very disappointing when in winter you have to be content with only tomato paste or canned tomatoes.

What to do? I will say right away that you can freeze tomatoes and even need to. This vegetable perfectly retains its properties when frozen. Of course, you should not think that you can make a salad from such frozen tomatoes. However, soups, pizzas, vegetable casseroles and much more from these tomatoes can be prepared all year round.

For each case, we can prepare tomatoes separately. What does it mean? For example, for pizza, we will freeze tomatoes in slices. Such a semi-finished product will serve us as a wonderful natural supplement. In addition, circles are suitable for cooking vegetable casseroles, pies or stews. It is also worth connecting your culinary imagination and figure out where else you can use this product. And for borscht, sauces, gravy, we will freeze tomato puree.

It is best to take tomatoes that are not too juicy for these purposes. The "cream" variety is ideal. Such fruits are perfectly cut and do not flow. This means that they freeze well and do not lose their shape.

So, wash the tomatoes and dry a little. Then we cut into circles about 0.5 cm thick. Put all the circles in one layer on parchment, laid on a tray or cutting board. Parchment in this case is very important, because without it the vegetables will stick to the board or spacing. And tomatoes are easily removed from it.

Now we send a tray with circles of tomatoes to the freezer. Once the tomatoes are firm, they can be transferred to a plastic container with a lid or a ziplock bag. But you can just pack it in a regular bag, tying it tightly and releasing the air.

How to freeze tomatoes for soup

Can be done. And you can freeze only tomatoes for borscht. The main thing is to have free space in the freezer. This option for freezing tomatoes is incredibly convenient, because we avoid conservation and do portioned harvesting, which is important. After all, we often need a small amount. And you have to open a whole can of tomato blanks. Sometimes the balance in the bank just disappears without waiting in the wings.

So, I propose to freeze tomato juice. The first thing to do is to squeeze the juice from the tomatoes. In this case, the tomatoes can be juicy. Then they will make excellent juice. It will also work out of fleshy tomatoes, but there will be a lot of pulp, which is also very good.

The resulting tomato juice is poured into molds. I have small size silicone cupcakes. As it turned out, they are good for freezing juice. It can be added to a small pot of soup or stew in the future. In general, we’ll figure out where to use this tomato “ice cream” in winter. And now we are doing a semi-finished product. We put the filled molds in the freezer. Let's cool well. Then we shift the pieces from the molds into a bag or container. We store all winter and get it if necessary. We throw briquettes into hot dishes shortly before the end of cooking.

This is what my tomato plant looks like.

Frozen stuffed tomatoes

In addition, tomatoes can be frozen for stuffing. How to do it? Each fruit must be peeled from the core. Then lay in a bag or on parchment with parchment in one layer. Allow to freeze well and then transfer to a permanent storage place. It can be a package or a container. In winter, we take out the tomatoes and rinse them with cold water. And only then we use it for its intended purpose, that is, we stuff it with the chosen filling.

Freezing tomatoes in the freezer with pepper

If you want to immediately prepare the preparation of tomatoes and peppers, I suggest chopping this vegetable finely and adding it to the finished tomato juice. Mix and pour into moulds. You can also use a small plastic container as a mold.

In addition, you can cook tomato dressing with the addition of herbs and spices. To do this, throw chopped greens into tomato juice and mix. All is ready! You can pour this mass even into molds for ice. Such bright ice cream will delight you throughout the cold season.

If earlier you asked the question: “Do tomatoes freeze?”, Now you can choose the freezing method and start harvesting this indispensable product for the future.

Tomato can rightly be called pantry of useful vitamins and elements. When consuming tomatoes, a person saves himself from most diseases of the heart and blood vessels. It is a pity that only in summer we enjoy this wonderful product. Of course, the rest of the time there is this vegetable in supermarkets, but it does not bring any benefit at all.

Many housewives are interested in the question: "Is it possible to freeze tomatoes?". Certainly yes. If you follow the recipe, the tomatoes will turn out like fresh.

What tomatoes are suitable and a few harvesting rules?

Before you start freezing, you should choose the right tomatoes. fit elastic vegetables but not very hard. First, they must be inspected for traces of pests and holes. Of course, such vegetables can also be harvested, but they will take longer to process.

You can store any variety in the freezer, but it is considered the most suitable tomato varieties "Roma" because it contains little water. This type is often used for making sauces without long cooking.

When freezing vegetables, there are several nuances to consider:

Freezing preparation

You can freeze for the winter any tomatoes in ripe form. The choice of variety depends on what type of freezing will be carried out. At the same time, vegetables must be strong, without signs of disease and damage. Unripe tomatoes should not be frozen, as they will give bitterness and there will be practically no sense from them.

Vegetables should first be sorted according to the degree of maturity, and then rinsed well with water and put on a towel to dry.

Ways to freeze tomatoes for the winter

Preparing fresh tomatoes for winter at home very simple- just choose a good recipe. For each case, a different method of freezing is suitable. What does this mean? For example, taking tomatoes out of the freezer in slices in winter, you can cook delicious pizza or focaccia. They are also great for omelettes and casseroles. But borscht is cooked with frozen tomato puree.

Freezing whole tomatoes

This method is considered the simplest recipe. The main thing here is to choose the right fruits. This method involves the use of only ripe and dense fruits, for example, "Cherry" and "Cream".

Prepared tomatoes are laid out in a bag and air is removed from them as much as possible. Then the package is sent to the freezer. Whole tomatoes can also be frozen. without peel. To do this, an incision is made around the stem in the shape of a cross and dipped the vegetable for 30 seconds in boiling water. This manipulation allows you to remove the skin with one movement of the hand. The peeled fruits are laid out on a board covered with cling film, and then covered with cellophane. For a day, vegetables are sent to pre-freeze. After this time, the fruits freeze slightly, and then they are transferred to bags and sent to the freezer.

In winter, tomatoes prepared in this way are used for cooking soup, main courses, salads and stuffing.

This recipe suggests giving preference to fruits. fleshy variety covered with thick skin. Prepared vegetables are cut into slices of 8–10 mm thick so that they do not blur when frozen. Tomatoes are laid out in a tray in layers, each separated with cling film or a bag. If there is no special tray, you can get by with a cutting board. After 6 hours, the tomatoes will seize, and then they should be poured into a bag.

In winter, such tomatoes come out fresh. They are used to prepare hot salads, pizza or sandwiches.

Tomatoes in the form of mashed pills

For this recipe may be suitable slightly overripe fruits. They even allow the use of fruits with a pre-cut area of ​​\u200b\u200bdamage (substandard). To prepare mashed potatoes, the fruits are passed through a meat grinder, and the mashed potatoes are laid out in molds and frozen.

As a form, silicone trays or an ice mold are used. The main thing is not to pour the mashed potatoes to the very edge of the mold, since the liquid expands during freezing.

When the tomato juice freezes (8-10 hours), the tomato cubes are taken out of the molds and put into bags. Then they are sent to freeze until the end. In winter, this puree is used to create sauces.

Stuffed tomatoes

Many housewives are interested in: is it possible to freeze tomatoes for the winter for stuffing? Yes, and for this they choose the most firm firm fruit. The “cap” of the tomato is cut off from the side of the stalk and the pulp is taken out. First, you need to freeze the tomatoes on a cutting board, and at the end, put them in portioned bags and send them to the freezer. You can stuff such tomatoes in winter with mushrooms, meat, pumpkin, cucumbers, cheese, etc.

Most of our hostesses like to use a proven tomato juice. Before the tomatoes begin to freeze, they are washed, dried and passed through a blender. The resulting juice is poured into molds and sent to freeze in the freezer. This method of harvesting tomatoes allows you to always have in stock an excellent nutritious drink and an excellent addition to all dishes. Freeze tomatoes this way healthy and tasty.

How to defrost tomatoes?

We got acquainted with freezing recipes, but how should tomatoes be thawed?

Finally

So, you need to freeze tomatoes! Vegetables fully retain their beneficial properties and are suitable for preparing a mass of hot dishes. They can be added to soups, salads, pizza, casseroles and omelets. Having connected the culinary fantasy, women come up with new principles for using a wonderful product. This vegetable will fill the body with nutrients, charge with health and energy. Bon appetit!

Freezing tomatoes for the winter

In summer, and especially in autumn, when the counters are bursting with tomatoes, almost no dish can do without them. In winter, tomatoes are also available in stores and on the market. But how can they be compared with summer ones grown under the real sun?

Therefore, housewives try to prepare as many tomatoes as possible for the winter. Marinades, pickles, winter salads are made from tomatoes. Of course, they are tasty, but still they do not have as many vitamins as in fresh ones.

Therefore, lately, housewives have increasingly begun to freeze tomatoes. Indeed, in frozen tomatoes, not only their real taste and aroma are preserved, but also almost all vitamins.

Tomatoes can be frozen whole, sliced, and even mashed or juiced.

How to prepare tomatoes for freezing

Almost all ripe tomatoes are suitable for freezing. Which variety to choose depends on the form in which they will be frozen. But the tomatoes should be strong, not overripe, without wormholes, signs of illness, any kind of damage. For freezing, select strong tomatoes with whole skins. Do not freeze unripe tomatoes, as they can be bitter, and there is little use for them.

Tomatoes are sorted according to the degree of ripeness. Then they are washed well in running water, spread on a towel and wait until the water dries.

How to Freeze Whole Tomatoes

For freezing whole tomatoes, varieties with hard skins, fleshy and with a minimum amount of juice are best suited. For example, cherry, cream, de barao. It is best if the tomatoes are small or medium in size.

Prepared tomatoes are laid out in a single layer on a tray and put in the freezer for several hours so that they freeze. Then the fruits are laid out in bags, the air is removed from them, if possible, and sealed or tied. It is very good if special freezer bags are used. Tomatoes packed in this way are put into the freezer.

If the tomatoes are firm and completely dry from moisture, then you can skip the pre-freeze. To do this, the tomatoes are immediately laid out in several pieces in bags in one layer, the air is removed and sealed or tied well. Removed to the freezer.

Whole tomatoes can be frozen with or without the skin. To freeze peeled tomatoes, proceed in this way. On clean tomatoes, a small cruciform incision is made, capturing only the skin. Tomatoes are dipped in boiling water for a minute, and then immediately immersed for the same time in cold water. After such a manipulation, the skin is easily removed, it is enough just to pick it up with a knife and pull it.

Peeled tomatoes are laid out in one layer on a tray covered with a film, and put into the freezer for primary freezing. When the tomatoes are completely frozen, they are put in several pieces in bags, tightly tied or sealed and put in the freezer.

How to freeze sliced ​​tomatoes

Clean and well-dried tomatoes are cut with a sharp knife into slices 8-10 mm thick.

The tray is lined with film or parchment and mugs of tomatoes are laid out on it so that they do not touch each other. You can make two or three layers of circles, but in this case, each layer of tomatoes is isolated from each other with a film so that the tomatoes do not freeze to each other.

The tray is put into the freezer for several hours (this depends on the ability of the freezer to freeze food). When the tomato circles are completely frozen, the tray is taken out, and the tomato circles are laid out in small portioned bags and tightly closed. Then put in the freezer for further storage.

How to freeze sliced ​​tomatoes

For freezing, only dense, fleshy and not watery tomatoes are suitable.

Tomatoes are cut into equal pieces (cubes or slices). If you need to freeze without the skin, then first remove it by immersing the tomato first in hot water, and then in cold.

Chopped tomatoes (without juice) are laid out in small bags, sealed well and put in the freezer.

How to freeze chopped tomatoes (mashed)

For this type of freezing, more juicy varieties of tomatoes are suitable, as well as slightly overripe, but not spoiled.

Washed and peeled tomatoes are cut into several pieces and scrolled through a meat grinder or chopped in a blender. Together with tomatoes, you can also scroll the pepper, adding also chopped greens.

The tomato mixture is laid out in small plastic containers, tightly closed and put in the freezer. It must be remembered that liquids expand during freezing, so the mixture is not poured to the brim.

For this purpose, you can use both silicone molds for baking and molds for freezing ice. After the mixture has hardened well, it can be removed from the molds and transferred to bags, tying them well.

Store all kinds of frozen tomatoes for 8-10 months at -18°. At a higher temperature, blanks can be stored for about 3-4 months.

How to defrost frozen tomatoes

whole tomatoes take out of the freezer and keep at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Then cut the still frozen tomatoes into slices or cubes. For salad, frozen tomatoes are cut into thin slices and added to the dish before serving.

If the tomatoes were frozen with skin and it needs to be removed, then the frozen tomato is dipped in hot water for a few seconds and then quickly peeled.

frozen tomato slices use without defrosting. Otherwise, they will lose their shape and “bloom”.

cut tomato slices put in the dish during cooking, without first defrosting. If the tomatoes were cut into thin slices, then they are added to the salad just before serving.

Rolled through a meat grinder tomatoes are also used frozen, adding them to dishes during cooking. But you can also defrost them, for example, to prepare some kind of sauce. To do this, they are thawed at room temperature or in the positive section of the refrigerator.

In the supermarket, but the price for them is very high, and the taste and smell are completely not up to the ideal. Therefore, experienced housewives are looking for ways to solve this problem and are increasingly resorting to the method. Today we will look at how to freeze fresh in the freezer and what you can then cook from them.

Advantages of the method

There are many positive aspects to freezing tomatoes:

• saving money in winter
• harvesting in a variety of ways, which allows them to be used in various dishes;
• maximum preservation of nutrients;
• the smell and taste characteristic of fresh fruits are not lost;
• ease of use of blanks, subject to proper packaging;
• simplicity and minimal time and labor costs in preparation for freezing.

Did you know? Initially, among the Aztecs, the fruits sounded like “tomatl”, and the French instilled the familiar “tomato” around the world. The word appeared in Italy, where these fruits were called "pomo d "oro", which means " golden". Therefore, now the words are the designation of the same thing.

Choosing the Right Fruits

A guarantee of quality blanks is the right choice of a product for freezing.

When choosing fruits, you need to pay attention to the fact that they are fleshy, but not very juicy. It is better to give preference to mid-ripening tomatoes, but not very overripe, so they will not be as dense as they should be. “Cream” of the “Novichok” variety are considered ideal fruits for freezing.

Its preparation can be carried out until the beginning of November. It harmoniously combines all the characteristics that are ideal for freezing: taste, density, fleshiness. Given that the shape of this variety is oblong, it is very easy and convenient to cut it.

Kitchen tools

To make harvesting fruits in different forms, you should stock up some kitchen utensils, which will help the process and simplify the task of preparing the product for freezing:

• a knife with notches on the blade. It is with the help of such a knife that you can ideally cut tomatoes, while not crushing them, which will keep all the juice inside the pieces;
• a plastic tray for placing blanks for freezing in the freezer;
• containers for storing tomatoes, for example, a plastic container or plastic bags;
• paper towels to dry tomatoes after washing;
• freezer for freezing;
• kitchen board to cut tomatoes;
• deep bowls for intermediate storage of products prepared for freezing.

Tomato preparation

Preparing tomatoes for freezing is quite simple. When you have chosen suitable fruits, they should be washed thoroughly under cold running water and wiped with paper towels so that they absorb all the water that will interfere with normal freezing of the product.

Did you know? Until the beginning of the 19th century in Europe, the tomato was considered a poisonous plant and the fruits were not eaten. They were used as decorative crops that decorated the estates of noble people.

Freezing Methods: Step by Step Recipes

Tomato is a product that can be used in various dishes, both in whole or crushed form, and in the form of tomato puree. Therefore, we consider step-by-step instructions for preparing tomatoes for freezing in different ways.

Whole fruits

The easiest and fastest way to freeze is to harvest whole vegetables, but consider whether it is possible to freeze whole tomatoes in the freezer.
Like any other vegetable, whole tomatoes can be frozen: after defrosting, they will be no worse than fresh ones.

To harvest fruits for the winter in this way, it is recommended follow instructions:

1. Small or medium tomatoes, previously washed and dried, should be laid out on a tray. An important nuance of freezing in this way is that the tomatoes should be laid out in one layer.
2. Next, the tray is sent to the freezer to freeze the fruit.
3. After the tomatoes are well frozen, it is necessary to decompose them into containers or bags, it is desirable to create a kind of vacuum for them, removing all the air. Of course, this cannot be done with a container, but you can experiment with a plastic bag.
4. Send the resulting blanks to the freezer.

There is also a way to freeze tomatoes that have been previously peeled.

In order to make blanks in this way, you should follow instructions:

• selected tomatoes should be washed well and a cross-shaped incision should be made on the top of the fruit;

Important! The incision should be made carefully so as not to damage the flesh, and cut only the skin.

• after boiling the water, it is necessary to place the tomatoes in boiling water so that the liquid completely covers the fruits;
• in boiling water, the tomatoes are kept for about a minute, then they are quickly thrown into ice water and kept for about 10 seconds;
• then you should quickly remove the tomatoes from the water and remove the skin, which is carefully pry off with a knife;
• peeled tomatoes should be laid out in one layer on a tray, previously covered with cling film, and sent to the freezer for freezing;
• it is important to ensure that the tomatoes do not touch each other, as they can stick together, and you can’t do anything about it;
• after complete freezing, the workpiece must be placed in a container or bag, tightly closed and sent to the freezer for storage.

circles

Blanking in circles is very convenient for pizza lovers. To make a workpiece in this way, you must:

1. Cut the washed and dried tomatoes with a sharp serrated knife into circles so that their thickness is within 0.7 mm.
2. The tray should be covered with cling film or parchment paper, and the sliced ​​\u200b\u200bcircles of tomatoes should be laid out so that they do not touch each other.
3. Prepared blanks are placed in the freezer for 2 hours. It should be remembered that each freezer is different, and you need to control the degree of freezing of tomatoes yourself.
4. When a complete freeze has occurred, the blanks should be placed in containers or plastic bags, tightly closed or tied and sent to the freezer for further storage.

in pieces

It is very convenient when you have chopped tomatoes in your freezer, which you can simply take out of the freezer and add to the dish without any pre-treatment, saving time and effort.

So let's see how freeze tomatoes for the winter slices step by step:

• to freeze tomatoes in this way, you should choose the most fleshy fruits that will contain a minimum of water;
• well washed and dried tomatoes should be cut into cubes;
• then you need to prepare small containers or plastic bags;

Important!You need to keep in mind that after freezing, it is strictly forbidden to defrost a bag of tomatoes, pour out some of them and freeze the same product again, therefore it is recommended to initially pour into each bag or container the amount of tomatoes that can be used at a time.

• if you plan to freeze slices without a peel, they should be processed in the manner described above (pour over with boiling water);
• prepared cubes are packaged in bags or containers and sent to the freezer for freezing and storage.

This method is the only one where absolutely any tomatoes can be used, preferably even if they are quite juicy. It is also allowed to use overripe fruits.

Consider step by step instructions for making tomato puree for freezing:

1. Tomatoes should be washed well, peeled and cut into pieces to make it easier to scroll through a meat grinder or chop with a blender.
2. The resulting tomato puree should be poured into plastic containers, tightly closed and sent to the freezer.
3. Keep in mind that the liquid can expand during the freezing process, so you should not add puree to the edge of the container.

There is also an interesting way to prepare mashed potatoes in ice molds. To do this, pour the tomato puree into molds, wait until it freezes completely, then transfer the cubes to a bag or container and send it to the freezer for storage.

In this form, mashed potatoes can be conveniently used by simply removing the required number of cubes from the package.

How much can be stored

The shelf life of frozen tomatoes depends on the temperature in the freezer. If it is lower than -18 ° C, then the shelf life of tomatoes will be 10 months. If the temperature in the freezer is higher than indicated, the shelf life of the blanks will decrease and will be about 4 months.

How to defrost properly

Tomatoes that have been frozen whole should be removed from the freezer and kept at room temperature for about 20 minutes. During this time, the tomatoes will not melt completely, but will become softer, which will allow them to be used for slicing in various ways.
If you plan to use whole tomatoes for a salad, then it is not recommended to defrost them: in this case, you need to cut the tomatoes into thin slices and add them to the plate with other vegetables before the dish is served.

Important! If you plan to peel frozen tomatoes before adding to the dish, then you should put them in boiling water for 10 seconds and remove the skin with a light movement.

If you have frozen tomatoes in circles, then it is not recommended to defrost them, because after defrosting they will deform and lose their attractive appearance.

Do the same with diced tomatoes. They are added exclusively during cooking, without first defrosting.

Tomato puree can also not be thawed, but a frozen product can be added during cooking. There are cases when mashed potatoes need to be thawed, for example, when preparing sauces, in which case it can be placed in the refrigerator or put on the table to thaw at room temperature.

What can be cooked

Frozen tomatoes are often used for a variety of dishes, so let's look at what to do with them and what culinary masterpieces you can cook.

Frozen blanks are useful for soups, stews, sautés, pizzas, sauces, baked dishes. In general, you can use frozen tomatoes in the same way as in the case of fresh tomatoes - everything is limited only by your imagination and the amount of frozen product.

Thus, freezing tomatoes in the freezer is quite simple, the main thing is to take into account some of the nuances when choosing a product and follow the recommendations described in this article in order to simplify the process of preparing and freezing tomatoes as much as possible.

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