For many of us, nothing in the garden beats fresh, slicing tomatoes. Come to think of it, those Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are pretty good, too. They are so good that it usually seems worth planting way more than necessary. Summertime should be a wonderful gluttony of tomatoes straight from the garden.
Now, while it makes perfect sense to plant extra tomato plants, the result will be too many tomatoes for anyone, any family, can rightfully eat. That’s not a problem, though! That’s a blessing. Tomatoes are one of the most versatile crops for storing. Even more amazing, preserved homegrown tomatoes still taste better than the store-bought stuff.
Hopefully, this article finds you in a magical harvest, looking for something to do with all those amazing tomatoes. It’s time to homestead!
1. Easy to Can
Unlike many, less acidic vegetables, tomatoes are fairly easy to can. They don’t require a pressure cooker. They just need a little added lemon juice to make sure the acidity level is high enough to keep bad bacteria at bay.
While many people get into canning sauce and salsa, it’s perfectly acceptable to simply can chopped or even whole tomatoes. This is nice because those tomatoes can later be used for whatever you like, sauce or salsa or chili or soup or so on.
2. Fermented Salsa
Most of the time people make salsa to be canned in a water bath, and that’s perfectly lovely. However, it’s also an option to make fermented salsa which will add healthy probiotics to those chip-and-dip nights.
The basics are as with any other ferment. All those salsa veggies get thrown into a bowl with some lime juice. The mixture gets packed into a jar, squishing the air out. Add some salt to the top and let it ferment for a day.
3. Freeze Them
For those with plenty of freezer space, an even easier way to preserve tomatoes is to simply put them in a bag in the freezer. They will lose textural components that make good tomato sandwiches, but they carry a lot of the fresh flavor into sauces and such throughout the winter.
A personal favorite for freezing is all those extra cherry tomatoes. It’s easy to grab a handful of them here and there to add a sweet tomato sensation to those winter soups and stews. Another idea for freezing is to use all those end bits remaining after slicing tomatoes during summer.
4. Oil-pack
The lovely part of this storing method is that it doesn’t require any water canning or measuring. The downside is that it needs to be refrigerated. Thus, it might be the right choice for those with an extra fridge or plenty of space in the fridge.
Use less juice tomatoes like cherry tomatoes or Roma tomatoes. Roast them in the oven so that they release their juices. After they’re roasted, pack them in a jar with herbs, garlic, and other seasonings. Then, fill the rest of the jar with olive oil.
5. Dry/Sun-dry
While sun-dried tomatoes are what many people call them, the truth is that sun-dried tomatoes aren’t all that feasible in a lot of climates. It’s simply too humid and rains too often to get anywhere with it.
The easier solution is to dry those tomatoes in a dehydrator or the oven. Sliced tomatoes will dehydrate more quickly, but it is hard to beat a dehydrated cherry or grape tomato.
6. Tomato Powder
Option number two with dried tomatoes is to whiz them into tomato powder. Not only can it be added to cooked dishes that want a bit of tomato-y goodness, but tomato powder is nice sprinkled onto bagels and cashew cheese, sandwiches, and the like.
7. Homemade Ketchup/Tomato Chutney
For folks who love ketchup, it’s even better— richer and fuller— when homemade. Homemade ketchup is paste tomatoes cooked down into a paste with sugar, salt, and some vinegar. Others might like to add stuff like celery salt, garlic powder, or cayenne.
A kicked-up version of ketchup is making tomato chutney, which makes a great substitute for ketchup and can be used with other dishes that might seem odd with ketchup.
8. Pickled Green Tomatoes
Another thing that eventually happens with a lot of tomato plants is that they meet their end. Tomatoes don’t like cold weather. This usually results in harvesting tons of tomatoes, green and red, before the first frost gets them.
The tomatoes that have begun to change color can be stored in a box for fresh eating later. The green tomatoes, after you’ve had your fill of frying them, can be sliced and pickled. They are wonderfully crunchy and a flavor unto themselves.
With all these options, it seems like the winter, much like the summer, is going to be filled with exciting garden tomatoes as well.
Related Content:
Easy Ways to Help the Planet:
- Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
- Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
- Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade repeatedly.
- Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
- Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
- Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!
