How to Preserve Tomatoes: 3 Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

Food preservation refers to a variety of techniques used to prevent food from spoiling. Methods of food preservation include canning, pickling, drying, freeze-drying, fermentation, curing, and freezing. Maintaining nutritional value, texture, and flavor are key aspects of food preservation.

Juicy, ripe tomatoes are a great addition to various savory dishes and a few sweet ones. Unripe tomatoes will last about a week on countertops at room temperature and up to two weeks in the refrigerator. However, you can dry, can, or freeze fresh tomatoes to preserve their texture and taste.

Preserving tomatoes allows you to enjoy delicious tomato recipes all year long. Consider trying one of these methods for preserving tomatoes.

1. 1. Freezing tomatoes: Frozen tomatoes will last twelve to eighteen months when properly stored in freezer containers. Tomatoes can be frozen raw or blanched first. Freeze tomatoes by washing them, scoring them, and blanching them in boiling water. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet in the freezer until completely frozen—typically a few hours. Then store the flash-frozen tomatoes in freezer bags or air-tight freezer containers. Freezing is a great method of preservation for a variety of tomatoes, including whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato paste, and tomato chutneys. When you're ready to use them, pull them out of the freezer and thaw them at room temperature or in a bath of cold water.
2. 2. Canning tomatoes: Canning tomatoes is an effective method for storing large batches of summer tomatoes in the pantry for twelve to eighteen months. Can tomatoes in sterilized, glass pint jars with metal rims and lids. Add lemon juice or citric acid and kosher salt to the jars with the tomatoes to help prevent oxidation. Check your canning recipe for the specified amount of headspace. Tomatoes can be canned by using a pressure canner or by carefully lowering the prepared jars into a boiling water bath using a ladle. Canned Roma tomatoes are perfect for tomato soup recipes, such as vegan basil tomato soup.
3. 3. Dehydrating tomatoes: Raw tomatoes can be dehydrated in the oven. Dried tomatoes are great for making sauces, and can be added to salads, pasta, and pizza recipes. Preheat your oven for 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven for two to three hours. Alternatively, tomatoes can be dehydrated using a food dehydrator. Dried tomatoes can be stored on the counter for a few days or frozen for up to six months. Covering them in olive oil can help extend their life even further and add flavor.

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