How to freeze fresh tomatoes for the winter in the freezer at home: recipes

Tomatoes do not lose their value all year round. Although they are considered a summer vegetable, they are also in demand in winter. In winter, the taste properties are not as pronounced as in the summer, so resourceful housewives stock up on tomatoes from summer to winter. A common way to harvest tomatoes is freezing. How to freeze tomatoes in the freezer for the winter, every housewife knows.

Is it possible to freeze tomatoes for the winter

Some people wonder if it is possible to freeze tomatoes at all, if they will lose their taste.Tomatoes are allowed to be frozen, and it is even necessary to do so. Yes, some nutrients lose their power when frozen, but a frozen vegetable is much he althier than canned tomatoes.

Regular consumption of tomatoes contributes to positive changes in the human body:

• normalizes the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
• blood is being cleansed;
• the work of the cardiovascular system is stabilizing;
• improves the general condition of the body;
• increases efficiency;
• Immune system improves;
• hair, nails, teeth are strengthened;
• reduces the risk of oncology;
• metabolic processes are carried out correctly.

Freezing a vegetable for the winter will always diversify the dish, making it tastier and he althier.

Freezing Features

Studies have shown that when a product is frozen, it loses up to 30% of its nutrients. This is due to the lack of professional equipment for freezing. Enterprises use shock freezing of products, which allows them to preserve maximum nutrients and vitamins.

Most even modern freezers do not provide quick freezing. The process of freezing food is quite slow, which affects the further content of vitamins and minerals in them.

When defrosted, the product loses its original shape, and all trace elements leave with the water.

In order to somehow preserve useful properties in a vegetable, some features should be taken into account when freezing:

1. Only fresh vegetables should be frozen. The ideal time after the tomatoes were brought from the garden, until the moment of freezing, is 6 hours.
2. Tomatoes should not be rotten, wrinkled or otherwise damaged.
3. Tomatoes must be thoroughly washed under running water.
4. Tomatoes should be frozen in small batches. There should be one serving per container.
5. The container in which the tomatoes will be frozen must be airtight so that air does not penetrate.
6. It is strictly forbidden to defrost and re-freeze the product. To do this, you should sign the container where the frozen vegetables will be stored in order, if necessary, to get the desired product from the freezer.

Special freezer bags or containers are sold on store shelves to ensure hermeticity and storage quality.

Selection and preparation of suitable fruits

In order for the freezing to turn out to be of high quality, it is necessary to carefully select the fruits. Tomatoes should be fresh, fleshy. Preference should be given to tomatoes of medium ripeness. If they are overripe, they will lose their density, which is needed to freeze the fruit.

Green tomatoes are also not suitable for freezing, as they do not have pronounced taste properties, and they can also give the dish a bitter aftertaste.

Before you buy a certain variety of tomatoes, you should choose the method by which the tomatoes will be frozen. For example, the cherry variety is suitable for freezing whole fruit.

Quality freezing also depends on the careful preparation of vegetables for it. When preparing tomatoes, a number of simple rules should be followed:

• Rinse the fruits of tomatoes properly under cool water;
• spread tomatoes on paper towels to dry well;
• choose a freezing method.

When placing tomatoes in the freezer, place them on top of other foods so that they do not lose their shape.

Preparing the refrigerator

The freezer must maintain the optimum temperature for freezing vegetables. First, you need to pre-freeze the vegetables by spreading them on cling film, then distribute the tomatoes into portioned bags for freezing vegetables and send them to the freezer for long-term storage.

You should first prepare a place for freezing tomatoes in the freezer. Vegetables should be placed on top of the rest of the food so that they do not lose their shape.

The best ways to freeze tomatoes at home

To prevent tomatoes from becoming shapeless and tasteless when frozen, you need to learn how to properly store them. There are many different ways to freeze tomatoes at home:

1. Whole fruits.
2. Slices without peel.
3. Pizza slices.
4. In pieces.
5. In the form of tomato puree, frozen in molds.
6. Stuffed tomatoes.
7. Freeze tomato with pepper.
8. In the form of tomato juice.

For each housewife, her own way of freezing is good. It is important to choose the best one for yourself, which will help diversify your favorite dish.

Whole fruits

Freezing whole fruits is pretty easy. For this freezing option, Cherry and Slivka tomato varieties are suitable.

It is enough to wash the vegetables under cool water, spread them on paper towels to absorb moisture. You can freeze tomatoes first. Then you should arrange the tomatoes in packages designed specifically for freezing, and put them in the freezer for storage.

Slices without peel

The red vegetable is also frozen without the skin. This method is used because after freezing the peel becomes harder, some people do not like it.

To properly freeze peeled tomatoes, do the following:

• wash vegetables thoroughly;
• remove stems from vegetables;
• dip the tomatoes in boiling water for half a minute, then rinse them with cold water;
• peel the tomatoes;
• put vegetables on the film, covering the top with cellophane;
• pre-freeze vegetables in the freezer for 24 hours;
• pack frozen tomatoes in portions in freezer bags, send to the freezer for further freezing.

In the future, frozen vegetables can be used for cooking first courses, salads. And also for stuffing.

Pizza slices

Freezing tomatoes in circles is very useful for making pizza, sandwiches in a hurry. For this freezing option, it is enough to rinse the tomatoes well under cool water, let them dry. Then prepare the sliced \u200b\u200bin thin circles, spread on cling film in the freezer.After pre-freezing, place the circles in special bags for long-term storage.

Pieces

For this method of freezing, it is necessary to choose meaty tomatoes with a hard skin. Cutting is done into cubes or thin slices. If you wish, you can peel the tomatoes. Vegetables are immediately distributed into freezer bags. Frozen tomato slices are added directly to dishes without defrosting.

Tomato puree frozen in molds

For this method of freezing, juicy, even slightly overripe tomatoes are used. Tomatoes are chopped in a meat grinder or using a blender. Ready tomato puree is laid out in molds. As molds, ordinary silicone molds for cupcakes or ice are used.

To prevent the tomato from flowing out of the mold, do not pour mashed potatoes to the very edge. Tomato puree is frozen for 8-10 hours, then removed from the molds in the form of frozen pieces and placed in portioned bags.

Freezing Stuffed Tomatoes

Durum fruits are suitable for stuffing. Stuffing tomatoes begins with cutting out the core of the fruit. For stuffing, any filling is used, at the request of the hostess. It can be meat, mushroom, vegetable stuffing.

Stuffed tomatoes are laid out on a board, placed in the freezer, pre-frozen. Then the vegetables are transferred into bags and placed in the freezer for further freezing.

In the freezer with pepper

Tomatoes and peppers together will be a very tasty addition to food.They can be stuffed and frozen together for awesome preparations. With pepper, all the same actions are carried out as with tomatoes. It should be thoroughly washed, dried, cut out the core, put in the freezer. Since peppers are much firmer in texture than tomatoes, it is not necessary to freeze them first.

Before freezing tomatoes and peppers, a number of actions should be performed:

1. Make tomato juice.
2. Chop the pepper.
3. Combine pepper with tomato juice.
4. Pour into molds.
5. Store in the freezer.

Tomato juice

Most resourceful housewives immediately turn tomatoes into tomato juice and freeze it. To do this, whole tomatoes are washed well under running water, cut into pieces and chopped with a blender.Ready juice is poured into molds and placed in the freezer.

Tomato juice perfectly diversifies any dish. In liquid form, tomatoes retain vitamins and beneficial properties much more.

How much and how frozen tomatoes are stored

The duration of storage of vegetables depends entirely on the power of the freezer and the temperature maintained in it. The optimum temperature for long-term storage of tomatoes is 18 degrees below zero. This temperature will allow frozen tomatoes to last for 10-12 months. If the temperature is lower, then the shelf life will be reduced to 4-6 months.

Tomatoes are stored in special bags where air access will be limited.

Defrosting frozen fruit

The principle of defrosting tomatoes will depend on what method was used to freeze them. Whole frozen tomatoes are thawed at room temperature. After the tomatoes have melted a little, you can cut them in a way that suits you.

If the tomatoes are for salad, they don't need to be thawed. It is enough to cut them into thin slices and add to the salad.

If you want to add skinless tomatoes to the dish, put them in a container of boiling water for a few seconds, then easily remove the skin.

Red vegetable frozen by other methods, added to dishes only frozen, not pre-defrosted.

What can be cooked

Frozen fruits are used to prepare various delicious dishes. Just like fresh tomatoes, freezing vegetables can come in handy for any meal. Frozen whole fruits are added to first courses, vegetable stews, salads and others.

Tomato puree makes a good cold vegetable appetizer, if you add caviar from zucchini, eggplant to it. Also, tomato puree is used as a sauce or instead of ketchup.

Sliced tomatoes are great for adding to pizza, scrambled eggs, hot sandwiches and other tomato based snacks.

So, tomatoes are usable not only fresh, but also frozen. It is important to choose a convenient way to freeze tomatoes for yourself, and then use them for a variety of your favorite dishes. Tomatoes should be prepared for the freezing process, properly stored, thawed, and prepared for delicious food.

Tomato is a vegetable that will enrich the body with essential vitamins and decorate any dish!

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