Is it possible to freeze tomatoes, how to prepare fruits for freezing

At any time of the year, you want to eat tomatoes that are not just tasty, but also contain the necessary valuable vitamins for the body. This raises questions: is it possible to freeze? tomatoes, how to do it correctly and what to cook then.

Content:

1. Is it possible to freeze tomatoes, advantages
2. What fruits to choose for freezing, how to prepare
3. What containers can be used
4. Recipes for dishes with frozen tomatoes

Is it possible to freeze tomatoes, advantages

Tomato is a very tasty vegetable used in preparing a variety of dishes. In winter it is quite difficult to find fresh tomato, That's why we came up with the idea of ​​freezing it.

This storage method has several advantages:

• significant savings in winter. At this time, fresh tomatoes are not easy to find on store shelves, and if they are available, their price is too high for the average citizen;
• Freezing can be carried out in a variety of ways, which allows you to use tomatoes in the future when preparing a variety of dishes;
• with such storage, the nutritional value of the product, appearance and taste are not lost;
• tomatoes retain all useful vitamins and microelements;
• ease of storage of workpieces;
• minimum time and effort spent preparing the product for freezing;
• easy storage recipes tomato and preparing dishes from it;
• at a freezing temperature of -18 C, the shelf life of the vegetable reaches 10 months.

It has been scientifically proven that tomatoes, like any other vegetables, can be frozen at an optimal temperature of -25 C so as not to lose all the valuable properties of this product.

What fruits to choose for freezing, how to prepare

Freezing tomatoes at home requires the correct selection of fruits and their preparation.

In order for the product to be preserved for as long as possible and delight you with its taste, you need to meet the necessary conditions:

• The fruits must be intact, without damage or rot. It is recommended to choose elastic tomatoes with not very thick skin;
• according to maturity tomatoes It’s better to take mid-season ones. This will prevent them from leaking or getting crushed when packed in a container for freezing. The “cream” tomatoes of the “Novichok” variety are considered the best; they are best harvested in September - October;
• the size should be medium. This increases the shelf life when frozen;
• tomatoes need to be washed well in clean cold water to remove dust and possible bacteria on its surface;
• wipe with a paper towel or soft kitchen towel to remove excess water that may interfere with proper freezing;
• Cherry tomatoes are frozen in the form of tomato puree. In this case, the fruits are first pressed through a sieve or crushed using a blender or meat grinder;
• for certain dishes, tomatoes can be cut into rings 0.7 mm thick for storage;
• you can freeze tomatoes into cubes or just pieces, carefully cutting them with a sharp knife;
• There is a way to freeze fruits with preliminary peeling. To do this, make a cross-shaped incision in the upper part. tomato Then they are immersed in boiling water for 1 minute, and then quickly transferred to cold water. After 10 sec. Take it out and carefully pry off the skin with a knife.

These methods of preparing fruits do not require special skills, so any housewife can do it without any problems.

What containers can be used

Depending on what kind of dish you want to prepare in winter, various storage containers are used:

• You can freeze tomatoes in pieces or cubes. They are laid out on disposable plastic plates or a tray, having previously covered them with cling film. With this method, it is important to lay out the fruits in one layer to avoid them freezing to each other and losing their integrity during defrosting. After partial freezing, the tomatoes are carefully transferred to special plastic containers;
• to freeze tomatoes for pizza you can cut it into thin rings. They, as in the previous case, are placed on a tray and left for about 2 hours in the freezer. Then they are stacked in plastic bags or plastic containers. It will be better if there is no air left in the bag, i.e. a vacuum effect will be created;
• Cherry tomato puree is poured into special molds. Do not fill to the brim, as the puree will expand when frozen.

It is important to remember not to re-freeze tomatoes. Therefore, it is better to put in the container the amount of product that will be necessary to prepare one or several dishes at a time.

Recipes for dishes with frozen tomatoes

Storing vegetables in this way allows you to prepare a lot of different dishes, from various sauces to first and second courses. Therefore, recipes with frozen tomatoes are very popular.

Soup using tomato puree

For preparation you will need:

• unpeeled shrimp -1 kg;
• tomato puree - 2 tbsp;
• 2 bulbs;
• 1 carrot;
• half a lemon;
• 4 tbsp. dry white wine;
• 2 bundles parsley or dill;
• Bay leaf;
• black peppercorns;
• cloves – 5-6 pieces;
• salt.

The water is boiled and bay leaf, salt, pepper, and coarsely chopped lemon are added. Chop the onion, grate the carrots on a fine grater and sauté in vegetable oil with the addition of tomato puree.

Then we throw the shrimp into boiling water, and after a few minutes sauté.

Add finely chopped greenery, cloves and wine. After boiling, boil for 15 minutes. We take out the shrimp and serve on a separate plate. The resulting broth can be eaten as a soup or used as a sauce.

Tomato rings are very convenient to use when making pizza. For example, they are placed on top of meat before baking in the oven or added to the bottom layer of pizza and then baked.

Also, tomatoes in this form are very convenient to add to salads.

Frozen cubes or pieces are convenient to use when preparing sautés, borscht, stews, and various vegetable or stews.

With this storage method, the consumed fruits will not lose their value. Therefore, frozen tomatoes are widely used in preparing the same dishes as fresh ones. In addition, this freezing method will save you money and time searching for fresh vegetables in the winter.

For more information about freezing tomatoes, watch the video: