In some years, the tomato harvest is particularly large. But where to put all the tomatoes? Freeze them? Find out here whether this works and makes sense.

Tomatoes are a real delicacy and are also extremely healthy. No wonder that more and more hobby gardeners are planting tomatoes. Tomatoes taste especially delicious when eaten directly from the bush, but there are also many other ways to process tomatoes. Whether as tomato soup, as ketchup, in the summer on the grill or as a delicious tomato salad – all options are open to you.

Sometimes the tomato harvest turns out to be quite abundant, so you have to think about how to utilize the tomatoes. Many boil their tomatoes, so as not to miss the pleasure even in winter. Others wonder if you can freeze tomatoes? We will tell you!

Freezing tomatoes should be well thought out

While many fruits and vegetables can be frozen, tomatoes are not so easy to freeze. In their raw state, tomatoes cannot be frozen because the fruit is 95 percent water. When frozen and then thawed, the quality of the tomatoes would suffer greatly. If tomatoes are thawed, they are only suitable for cooking, for example, to make a fruity tomato sauce.

  • Freeze fresh, whole tomatoes

If you want to freeze raw tomatoes, you must pay special attention to the quality. The tomatoes must not have any rotten spots and the consistency must not be too soft. Flesh tomatoes are best because they have a lower water content than other varieties. Pick the best quality tomatoes, wash them with cold water and then let them dry on kitchen paper. Then remove the stem end and place the tomatoes in a freezer bag.

  • Freeze tomato pieces

Before freezing, thoroughly wash and dry the tomatoes and also remove the stem ends. Then cut the tomatoes into pieces and place a freezer container or freezer bag, seal and place in the freezer. Frozen like this, the tomatoes will keep for about up to a year.

Tomatoes better to pre-cook

It is much better to cook the tomatoes before freezing or to store a ready-made tomato dish in the freezer right away. Prepare a tomato sauce, which you then only have to season to your liking after thawing. This way you always have a tasty basic sauce in the freezer, which you can still vary a lot.

The easiest way to do this is to cut the tomatoes into pieces, salt them and then cook them for 10 minutes. If you want, you can also add herbs or other spices at this stage depending on your preference. After the tomatoes have cooled completely, it is best to fill them into plastic freezer containers.

Tip: Always freeze small portions, then the tomatoes freeze much better.

Defrost tomatoes

If you then want to prepare the tomatoes at some point, simply take them out of the freezer and put them in the microwave or in a saucepan while they are still frozen. If you are freezing pre-cooked tomato dishes, do not use dairy products or a roux. The milk would flocculate when reheated later, and the roux will make the dish bitter when reheated. Moreover, tomatoes that do not have a perfect skin should not be used for freezing.