Storing tomatoes

alleycat · Aug 25, 2011

I'm sure almost everyone has heard to store tomatoes stem side down. This is a short article from Cooks Illustrated about why this is better. I thought it was interesting that they did a test with the stem taped up; then it didn't make any difference which way the tomatoes were stored.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/detail.asp?docid=1173&Extcode=N1HSPFA00

Calla Lily · Aug 26, 2011

I never knew that.

We have an embarassment of riches this year from our tomato plants. I've done the Alton Brown "cook them down and freeze them" thing* 3x now, and will probably do a fourth today.

*It's in one of his books: Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with non-stick spray. Cut as many tomatoes in half as will fit tightly on the tray. Place them cut side up. Spice any way you want (I usually use salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano) and drizzle a bit of poi over all (spraying them with cooking spray also works). Cook at 350 for about an hour or till they've started to shrivel. Cool, slide tray in freezer for an hour or so, then remove tomatoes and bag up. Alton Brown likes to cook things on low overnight, but that always makes me nervous, so I've adopted this method. The danger is that when tey're done, they smell so good you just want to nom all of them.

quicklime · Aug 26, 2011

make spaghetti sauce and various Mexican sauces out of mine and freeze in bags......

kikazaru · Aug 26, 2011

I hadn't heard about storing them stem down, it's true you really do learn something new every day!

When I have an embarrassment of tomato riches (not something I've had in a long time since the deer eat EVERYTHING) I take green tomatoes, wrap them well individually in newspaper, place them in a box and put them in the basement (cool and dark). When November rolls around (and once even January) I am eating fresh garden tomatoes.

Alpha Echo · Aug 26, 2011

I'm, for the first time so I'm a little nervous, going to can tomato sauce. Got the most amazing recipe from some friends in Canada when we tasted hers. Sooooo yummy. Doing it this weekend if we don't lose power.

alleycat · Aug 26, 2011

kikazaru said:
I hadn't heard about storing them stem down, it's true you really do learn something new every day!

When I have an embarrassment of tomato riches (not something I've had in a long time since the deer eat EVERYTHING) I take green tomatoes, wrap them well individually in newspaper, place them in a box and put them in the basement (cool and dark). When November rolls around (and once even January) I am eating fresh garden tomatoes.

If I were doing this, and if the exposed stem makes this much difference, I would be tempted to do an experiment. Instead of pulling the tomatoes off, I would take a pair of garden shears and cut them off, leaving just a little of the vine on each tomato. Might be worth trying this on a few of the tomatoes and see if it makes a difference in long-term storage.

Stlight · Aug 27, 2011

callalily61 said:
I never knew that.

We have an embarassment of riches this year from our tomato plants. I've done the Alton Brown "cook them down and freeze them" thing* 3x now, and will probably do a fourth today.

*It's in one of his books: Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with non-stick spray. Cut as many tomatoes in half as will fit tightly on the tray. Place them cut side up. Spice any way you want (I usually use salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano) and drizzle a bit of poi over all (spraying them with cooking spray also works). Cook at 350 for about an hour or till they've started to shrivel. Cool, slide tray in freezer for an hour or so, then remove tomatoes and bag up. Alton Brown likes to cook things on low overnight, but that always makes me nervous, so I've adopted this method. The danger is that when tey're done, they smell so good you just want to nom all of them.

would not last long enough to freeze in our house. nom indeed.

Calla Lily · Aug 27, 2011

I bit the bullet today and canned 4.5 quarts of tomato puree, because there's another dozen of the beasties ripe to pick already!

alleycat · Aug 27, 2011

That's the trouble with things like peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. You wait and wait for that first one. It seems like it takes forever for the first one to ripen. Then, two or three weeks later, "Yikes! What am I going to do with all these tomatoes, and cucumbers, and peppers, and squash?"

GeorgeK · Sep 5, 2011

If you like to peel tomatoes for sauces etc, just freeze them whole. Then instead of needing boiling water to blanch and peel you can do it with warm water out of the tap while they are frozen.

GeorgeK · Sep 5, 2011

alleycat said:
That's the trouble with things like peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. You wait and wait for that first one. It seems like it takes forever for the first one to ripen. Then, two or three weeks later, "Yikes! What am I going to do with all these tomatoes, and cucumbers, and peppers, and squash?"

When picking your seeds to plant, pick varieties that are indeterminate so they won't fruit and ripen all at the same time.

alleycat · Sep 9, 2011

GeorgeK said:
When picking your seeds to plant, pick varieties that are indeterminate so they won't fruit and ripen all at the same time.

I still find that at a certain point in time, you will have more than you can use (or want to go pick).

Storing tomatoes

alleycat

Still around

Calla Lily

On hiatus

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

kikazaru

Benefactor Member

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

alleycat

Still around

Stlight

ideas are floating where they will

Calla Lily

On hiatus

alleycat

Still around

GeorgeK

ever seeking

GeorgeK

ever seeking

alleycat

Still around