If you have an abundance of tomatoes, you can roast or fry them to use as building blocks for pasta, soup, pizza, or to use as simple sides next to your favorite entrees. Garlic Fried Tomatoes. Ripe red tomatoes, gently fried in extra virgin olive oil and flavored with fresh garlic and a sprinkle of mint.
Remove garlic and herbs, as they can spoil and are not safe for preserving, then add the tomatoes to a sterilized jar (thoroughly washed with soapy hot water). Cover completely with olive oil and store in the refrigerator for 6 weeks (or longer) just make sure they stay completely submerged in the oil.
Try blanching tomatoes and then plunging them in cold water. Peel the skins off, place the tomatoes in a plastic bag, and freeze them. If the frost comes before your last tomatoes have a chance to ripen, all is not lost.
Tomatoes may be frozen raw or cooked, whole, sliced, chopped, or puréed. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked foods such as soups, sauces and stews as they become mushy when they're thawed.
Tomatoes can be preserved by canning, drying, freezing, or pickling. They can also be used in creating fruit spreads like jams, jellies and marmalades. Raw tomatoes or raw tomato products can be kept refrigerated (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit), but will spoil over time due to bacteria, yeasts, and molds.
Store ripe tomatoes at room temperature on your counter for up to 1 week. Alternatively, store tomatoes in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, place tomatoes in a storage bin, then store them in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.
After sterilizing the jars in boiling water, boil and peel the tomatoes you want to store. Add them pureed or as whole tomatoes to the clean jars with lemon juice. Seal and process the jars in boiling water. Canning is easy and will keep your tomatoes fresh for much longer!
Freeze them!
You can freeze cherry tomatoes whole in freezer bags. They won't be suitable for fresh eating as they will fall apart when they thaw, but they make perfect additions to stews and sauces throughout the winter months.
Tomatoes are one of the few items from your backyard vegetable patch that you can freeze without blanching. Just wash and dry the tomatoes, place them on a cookie sheet, and slide them into the freezer. When the tiny globes are frozen solid, toss them into a container or zipper bag.
Eating too many tomatoes could lead to large amounts of Lycopene building up in your system. Although Lycopene isn't harmful and is generally safe, excessive consumption can eventually cause skin discolouration, digestive troubles, body aches, and acid reflux.
Peel and Freeze the Tomatoes
If desired, halve, slice, or chop tomatoes (you can also freeze whole tomatoes). Spoon the tomatoes into freezer containers or bags, leaving 1-inch headspace. Seal and label the container or bag. Freeze for up to 10 months.
Store the tomatoes in a cool, dark space.
The ideal storage location for ripe tomatoes would be a dark room at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, they neither ripen further nor suffer cold damage, and remain in great condition for more than a week.
Ripe Tomatoes
And unless you're eating them immediately, ripe, locally grown tomatoes will also last longer in the fridge; eat within a few days. Store ripe tomatoes in your fridge stress-free and enjoy them within a couple days of purchasing.
You can eat them straight out of the skillet as I do, but there are more civilized choices: Toss the tomatoes with pasta, mash them a little and pile them on toast, fold them into scrambled eggs, or serve them over grilled chicken, steak, or fish. So go ahead, buy a few more pints at the farmers market while you can.
Eating too many cherry tomatoes can give you acid reflux and other negative digestive side effects. This may be due to the malic acid in cherry tomatoes.
Once picked, tomatoes should be stored on a counter or shelf out of direct sunlight. If you wash them after picking them, make sure to dry them before you leave them on the counter. Tomatoes typically last 3-5 days on the counter. They can also be stored in the refrigerator so they keep a little longer.