Freezing tomatoes whole requires very little effort
No blanching or peeling required
It's a wonderful way to store your tomato harvest and use for sauces and stews throughout the year
Not all varieties of tomatoes will freeze well
Large tomatoes with a lot of juice like Beefsteak will not hold up well to the freezing and defrosting process
The tend to disintegrate and become mealy
Small tomatoes like Roma and other sauce varieties have less liquid and will hold up well in frozen storage
They can even be sliced and used in cold pasta salads once defrosted
You can freeze tomatoes with the stems on unwashed if you are not planning to use them straight out of the bag once defrosted
As you run the warm water over the frozen tomatoes stem and peel them
They are perfect and ready to use in your recipe
Freezing Tomatoes for Small Freezers
Prepare your perfectly ripe, blemish free whole tomatoes by de-stemming, washing and patting them dry
Place the tomatoes in your freezer on a flat surface, not touching
Once the tomatoes are completely frozen place them in a freezer safe bag
Remove all of the excess air, label and store flat in your freezer
Freezing Tomatoes for a Chest Freezer
Place perfectly ripe, blemish free, de-stemmed, washed and dried tomatoes on a large baking sheet not touching each other
You can core the tomatoes if you desire but it is not necessary
Set the baking sheet in the freezer and allow the tomatoes to freeze fully
Place them in gallon sized freezer safe bags, removing all of the excess air from the bag
Label and store flat for up to 1 year
When you are ready to use the frozen tomatoes, simply add however many to a bowl of water and defrost
The skin can then be easily pulled off and the tomato is ready to use