Hey, Mom

Fresh from the garden tomatoes are one of the simple joys of life. I always overplant just to make sure I will have enough tomatoes. We are just about to start getting ripe tomatoes and I know that once they start ripening, I will have more than I can handle.

I try to use as many of them as I can fresh. But if they start to go bad, the idea of tossing them out is simply abhorrent.

One of the cardinal sins of tomatoes is putting them in the refrigerator. You may think that you’re preserving them, but what you’re really doing is robbing them of all flavor. Just keep tomatoes out on the counter or in a decorative bowl on a table or in a basket.

Give extras away before you put them in the fridge. Or preserve them for later use.

I do not can. Instead, I freeze. It’s very simple. I wash the tomatoes, core them, and then cut into cubes. Usually I cut them in half, then the halves into four pieces (or six if the tomato is larger). Then I place the “cubes” skin side down on a cookie sheet and plop them into the freezer. Once the tomatoes become “ice cubes,” I put them into quart sized freezer bags and they go straight into the deep freeze.

If you will store them in a regular freezer, they won’t last as long. Frost free freezers are always heating up and cooling down, which is why you get freezer burn. But tomatoes stored in a deep freeze will last for about a year (maybe even a little longer).

I use my frozen tomatoes in a couple of ways:

• add a few to soups or sauces (simply remove unwanted skins that slough off before serving)
• use as a base for chili
• use a a “fresh” tomato sauce for pasta

It’s best to add them to recipes in their frozen state. If you thaw them out first, you will lose a lot of juice.

Thawed tomatoes are never good for simply eating. They will be mush, so it’s best to use them for sauces and soups.