How to Preserve Tomatoes – 4 Great Methods

If your garden produces a bountiful crop of tomatoes, you can preserve the extra fruit. We demonstrate four ways to preserve tomatoes.

Why you Should Preserve Tomatoes

In some years, the tomato crop can be very plentiful. Consequently, you may not always have the chance to consume all of the tomatoes. It would be a shame to throw away a lot of tomatoes, so you don’t need to worry about storing them. But you don’t even need to do that because there are many ways to store tomatoes for up to a year.

As a result, you can also indulge in delicious and incredibly healthy vegetables later. The best thing is that after preserving, tomatoes keep their flavor¹! Few-seeded, nice-and-fleshy tomatoes, like Roma and beef tomatoes, are excellent for canning.

The only way to guarantee high quality and the best flavor is to always choose tomatoes that are nice and firm and faultless.

Before we start with our methods to preserve tomatoes we want to raise your attention to a related topic. If you are on the first phase growing tomatoes you must have a look at growing tomatoes in greenhouses. With the help of the following article you will be able to grow the best tomatoes through the whole year!

Method 1: Pickle Tomatoes in Vinegar to Preserve Tomatoes

The small cherry or cocktail tomatoes in particular are particularly well-suited to vinegar preservation.

The tomatoes should first be cleaned.

After that, layer the tomatoes in sterilized jars.

Add spices (such as pepper, salt, garlic, chili, and onion) to taste along with a little sugar after diluting wine vinegar by half with water.

After boiling everything, pour it over the tomatoes. As an alternative, consider using a cucumber infusion.

Next, you must airtightly seal the jars.

Note: It is recommended to quarter large tomatoes. Remove the stem end and core as well. After that, boil the tomatoes in the mixture of wine vinegar and water that has been spice-refined. While the vegetables are still hot, put them in the jars and seal them right away.

Method 2: Boil to Preserve Tomatoes

Boiling red vegetables, or rather, preserving them, is another method of preserving them.

Remove the seeds and stalk from the tomatoes before cutting them in half. To prevent them from bursting while being preserved whole, such as cocktail tomatoes, prick them with a toothpick.

The tomatoes should then be layered in the prepared canning jars. The tomatoes can optionally be skinned before being put in the canning jars.

Boil salted water, then ladle the broth over the tomatoes in the jars.

The jars should be tightly sealed before being submerged for 45 minutes in an 80 to 85-degree water bath. For this, you can use a sizable roaster or a large canning pot.

You can also preserve tomatoes in the form of a homemade tomato sauce as an alternative to whole or chunky tomatoes. After that, you pour this into the canning jars and sterilize them in a water bath following the same procedure.

Method 3: Drying tomatoes

Fruits and vegetables are dried to enhance storage stability, minimize packaging requirements and reduce transport weight². The gentle process of drying tomatoes keeps many nutrients intact and is another great way to preserve tomatoes. In this process, your tomato plants get dehydrated to preserve³. Depending on size, cut the fruit into halves or quarters, and you can also lightly salt them to extend shelf life even further. You can use a variety of techniques, depending on how quickly and frequently you want to dry the tomatoes.

Using The Oven To Dry Tomatoes

The oven is great for turning juicy tomatoes into intensely flavorful dried tomatoes instead of the dehydrator, which is already in every home. To preserve tomatoes, lay the tomato pieces skin side down on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or a baking paper substitute. Bake the baking sheet for about 8 to 12 hours at 60 °C (140 °F). The oven door is occasionally cracked open with the aid of a clamped wooden spoon or briefly opened to permit moisture to escape.

Using a Dehydrator to Dry Tomatoes

A dehydrator is advised if you frequently dry fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes. Additionally, the cut tomatoes are placed skin-side down on the drying grids and left to dry completely at 60 °C (140 °F) in a matter of 7 to 10 hours.

Drying Tomatoes Outdoors

On sunny days, you can accomplish the same thing outside, but it will take much longer to preserve tomatoes in this way. Bring the cut tomatoes inside in the evening after drying them in direct sunlight. Till they are sufficiently dry, continue doing this for five to six days. A fly hood or insect net can be used to keep insects away from the tomatoes while you’re doing this.

Method 4: Freezing tomatoes

The ability to freeze whole, diced, or pureed tomatoes is a good way to preserve tomatoes. This is only appropriate, though, if the tomatoes will be used in later cooked dishes. The consistency of the flesh changes when it is frozen. Frozen tomatoes are perfect for adding a tomato flavor to sauces and soups.

The tomatoes should, in our opinion, be diced before freezing. Additionally, since the stalk is fibrous and would only take up space, it should be cut off beforehand. The tomatoes can also be pre-skinned if you’d like. After that, divide the fruit into tiny zippered freezer bags so that the bags’ contents are completely airtight. In addition to increasing packing density, this also allows the diced tomatoes to thaw more quickly. Tomatoes can be preserved for up to a year by freezing.

Last but not least, if you are growing tomatoes yourself you must try companion planting! With the help of this technique your plants you raise to preserve tomatoes will be tastier and healthier! Check out the best tomato companion plants:

References

1. Ukponmwan, I. (2015). Preservation of Tomatoes. In 5th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Technology: Preservation of Tomatoes (Vol. 81, pp. 85-88).
2. Sagar, V. R., & Suresh Kumar, P. (2010). Recent advances in drying and dehydration of fruits and vegetables: a review. Journal of food science and technology, 47(1), 15-26.
3. Parnell, T., Suslow, T., & Harris, L. (2004). Tomatoes: safe methods to store, preserve, and enjoy. UCANR Publications.