How to Freeze Tomatoes

As you might expect, freezing whole tomatoes is a bit easier and less time-consuming than putting blanched and stewed tomatoes on ice. The first thing you need to do is select your tomatoes. After ensuring your chosen fruits are firm, relatively fresh and unblemished, wash them in the sink under running water. You shouldn't use any soaps or detergents (you'll be eating these tomatoes eventually, after all), so just rub the surface of each tomato clean and then rinse it off again. Avoid dunking the fruits into a sink full of water. Even if you just filled the sink, the tomato's skin and stem car can absorb lurking bacteria and other contaminants. After you finish rinsing them, blot the tomatoes dry with a paper towel.

After your tomatoes are clean and dry, slice away their brown stem scars and place them on a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer uncovered for several hours until the tomatoes are frozen. Then, transfer the tomatoes into freezer bags and seal them up, ensuring there's little to no excess air in the bags. Stash them in the freezer until you're ready to make a sauce or stew.

A frozen tomato's lifespan is usually around eight months. As with any batch of frozen food, to ensure they last as long as possible, package them in bags or containers specifically made for freezing. Also, make sure your freezer remains at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.