Diversify Your Pantry: TOMATOES
Tomatoes mark the pinnacle of the harvest season.
With our short summers they come and go in the blink of an eye. Luscious and lolling, they beg to be eaten fresh morning, noon and night. But even eating tomatoes three meals a day, we may not be able to keep up with the bounty. And do we really want to devour every last tomato leaving nothing- no brightness, no juicy acidity, no rich red umami- for the long grey winter? I think not.
Our Community Gardens Team published this blog post on extending the life of your tomato plants and a few ways of prolonging your enjoyment of their fruits.
This post delves deeper into a few methods of preserving tomatoes that I find to be particularly convenient and delicious.
These strategies require only tomatoes, aside from a bit of salt and a dash of lemon juice for the canning methods. Keeping it simple, you can use up your glut of tomatoes, whatever the amount, without finding the proper proportions of other ingredients. Furthermore, I find that preserving tomatoes on their own allows me more creativity in the kitchen, providing me with a basic ingredient that can easily be incorporated into countless other recipes.
Canned, PaRT ONE: Crushed or whole tomatoes
Add to soups and stews for extra richness, or use in a sauce to top pasta or winter squash. Use pint or quart sized jars.
Ingredients
Tomatoes, preferably a paste variety such as Juliette or Grandma Mary
Salt
Lemon juice
Tools
Canning jars and lids
Water-bath
Instructions
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Blanch tomatoes in batches, enough to create a single layer of floating tomatoes in your pot. Remove each batch after 30 seconds and, using a sieve or slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl or sink full of cold water.
After tomatoes have cooled in the water, slip skins from the flesh. Collect tomatoes in a large bowl and compost the skins. If you have trouble slipping the skins, try scoring the skin with a knife and return briefly to boiling water. Skins should slip easily from perfectly ripe tomatoes.
Prepare a water bath and jars for canning.* Wash jars and place in oven at 225°F for 20 minutes. Place lids in a small pot of water, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit until ready to use.
Remove warm jars from oven one at a time and fill with tomatoes,** leaving ½ inch head space. Add lemon juice (2 T per quart, 1 T per pint) and salt (1 tsp per quart, ½ tsp per pint). Wipe rims, place lids and rings on jars and transfer to the water bath.
Process in water bath (45 minutes for quart jars, 35 minutes for pint jars). Turn off heat and allow jars to sit for an additional 10 minutes before removing.
*You may choose to freeze instead of can. If freezing in glass jars, leave significant headspace, 2 inches for quart sized jars, to allow room for expansion.
**If you prefer crushed tomatoes, simply tear your tomatoes by hand after slipping the skins. During this process you may choose to remove seeds. For an even finer texture, transfer torn tomatoes to a pot and bring to a simmer. Crush using a potato masher until you reach your desired consistency.
Canned, Part Two: Roasted Tomato Puree
Pizza sauce, pasta sauce, soups, stews. The flavor of roasted tomatoes enhances all sorts of meals. Since a little goes a long way, I prefer to use 4 oz jars.
Ingredients
Tomatoes, a mix of varieties helps to balance the flavor
Salt
Lemon juice
Tools
Water bath
Canning jars and lids
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Cut tomatoes in half and arrange on baking sheets, cut side up. Salt liberally.
Bake until soft and juicy and the sugars start to caramelize, about 2 hours. Rotate sheets every 30 minutes to ensure even baking.
If you’re using varying sizes of tomatoes, try cutting them into somewhat even chunks, or arrange by size and remove them from the oven as they finish roasting.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Prepare a water bath and jars for canning*. Wash jars and place in oven at 225°F for 20 minutes. Place lids in a small pot of water, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit until ready to use.
Transfer tomatoes to a blender and puree until smooth. A food mill also work, removing the skins and seeds which can add a bitterness to the paste.
Bring puree to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Ladle puree into warm jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Add 1 tsp lemon juice per 4 oz. jar, 2 tsp per 8 oz. jar. Wipe rims, place lids and rings on jars and transfer to the water bath.
Process in water bath (20 minutes for 4 oz. jars, 25 minutes for 8 oz. jars). Turn off heat and allow jars to sit for an additional 10 minutes before removing.
*You may choose to freeze this paste instead of canning it. If freezing in glass jars, leave significant headspace, 1 inch for 8 oz. jars, to allow room for expansion.
freezing tomatoes
Frozen whole tomatoes are incredibly versatile, easy to both prepare and use. Sprinkle a few in the skillet over hearty greens. Roast with onions and garlic to create a rich base for soups and sauces. I prefer to use smaller fruits such as Sungold or Glacier and use them a handful at a time throughout the winter.
Ingredients
Tomatoes of any variety
Tools
Plate or sheet pan
Plastic bags or other storage container
Freezer
Instructions
Arrange tomatoes on a plate or sheet pan (depending on the number of tomatoes and amount of freezer space) and place in the freezer. When frozen, transfer to a plastic bag.
Freeze excess tomatoes bit by bit as you harvest and you’ll have a plentiful stockpile before you know it!
dehydrated tomatoes
Nothing matches the rich flavor of sundried tomatoes. A friend shared their method of steeping them in olive oil, layered with basil leaves, sliced garlic and capers. I encourage you to give it a try.
While I love the idea of sun-drying tomatoes, using a dehydrator or oven is a more reliable way to dry tomatoes in our climate. Our River Road and Northside community gardens harness the power of the sun with solar dehydrators. Community gardeners are welcome to utilize these awesome tools! Note: thinly slicing your tomatoes will ensure a faster dry-time. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of tomatoes molding in the solar dehydrator due to a lack of consistent heat.
Ingredients
Tomatoes
Tools
Food dehydrator or oven
Instructions
Cut tomatoes in half or in slices.
If using a dehydrator, arrange tomatoes on shelves, cut side up. Place trays in dehydrator and dry at 135-140°F. Drying time is dependent on size of tomatoes. Remove from dehydrator when tomatoes are no longer juicy but remain pliable. Transfer to a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours before transferring into an airtight container for long-term storage.
If using an oven, arrange tomatoes cut side up on a cooling rack or slotted tray to promote air circulation. Place in oven set to its lowest temperature.Drying time is dependent on size of tomatoes. Remove from oven when tomatoes are no longer juicy but remain pliable. Transfer to a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours before transferring into an airtight container for long-term storage.
