Summer tomatoes are sweet and juicy, but like summer, they are gone fast. You may well find yourself craving them in the winter—but the good news is that there are many easy ways to preserve tomatoes at home so you can enjoy their flavor when summer becomes a distant memory. Whether you can, dry, freeze, or make tomato confit, sauce, ketchup, or tomato paste, you don't need much more than time and patience to preserve this beloved produce.
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A Guide to Tomato Varieties, From Cherry to Yellow Plum
Canning Tomatoes
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At-home canning allows you to capture fruits and vegetables at the height of their flavor, and summer tomatoes are the perfect candidate for this process. While it may seem intimidating, all you need are some sturdy jars, a large pot of water, and some heat proof tongs to handle them. Canning tomatoes at home also means you know exactly what's going into your jars, and with peak tomatoes, little more is needed than the tomatoes themselves and some salt.
It's best to remove the skins from the tomatoes before canning, and it's important to use new jars, as used jars might not seal properly upon processing. Once processed, home canned tomatoes can often last as long as one year if stored in a cool, dry, and dark space.
How to Can Tomatoes the Right Way
Drying Tomatoes
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Sun-dried tomatoes had a renaissance in the 1990s and for good reason. Dried tomatoes are small nuggets of rich, concentrated tomato flavor "that lend sweet, savory, sour, and umami notes as well as a burst of color so they can be considered truly timeless," says Olivia Roszkowski, the chef-instructor of plant-based culinary arts at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. "If not used correctly however, the flavor can be quite overwhelming. It is important to soak them thoroughly so they integrate properly into your dish and allow you to process them into smaller pieces if applicable."
Follow Martha's recipe to dry tomatoes at home, and keep these tips in mind:
- Start with good quality, ripe tomatoes: "This will translate to the flavor they lend when dried," says Roszkowski.
- To dry tomatoes, you need to use a dehydrator or a low oven setting: “The lower the temperature when drying, the better—low heat will help preserve some of the delicate volatile flavor molecules,”says Roszkowski.
- The tomatoes should be spread out and given lots of space to encourage a quick and even drying process.
- "Make sure the tomatoes are completely dehydrated and cool completely before storing to discourage mold growth," says Roszkowski.
"If you have extra dried tomatoes, a great way to utilize them is by adding a couple when making stock or homemade tomato sauce," Roszkowski says. "They will lend an extra layer of depth."
Tomato Confit
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To confit food means to submerge it in a bath of fat (such as duck fat or olive oil), and cook it at a low temperature for a long amount of time. "Confit" comes from the French word confire, literally "to preserve." "The flavors that result are sweet, mellow, and cooperative for many uses," says Roszkowski, who also notes that confiting allows you to include additional flavors like woody herbs (rosemary, sage, and thyme) and even garlic to impart more flavor to the tomatoes.
Once confit tomatoes are complete, "it is best to strain the confit-ed tomatoes and store them separately (from the oil) to prevent anaerobic microbe growth like botulism," says Roszkowski. The oil used to make them can be saved for a variety of applications such as dipping breads or to make sauces or vinaigrettes—it can also be used for future confit-ing. Both the confit tomatoes and the oil should be stored in the refrigerator.
Tomato Sauce
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Making tomato sauce is a simple way to preserve tomatoes. And, having homemade tomato sauce on hand means you always the makings of dinner. Roszkowski recommends the pressure cooker method for tomato sauce; she says it infuses a large amount of flavor in little time. "In a matter of minutes, your tomato sauce will have a greater amount of depth and taste like you simmered it for hours," she says.
Another one of her secrets for a great tomato sauce is to toast some umami-rich fridge staples, like miso paste or even tomato paste (double tomato!), in olive oil over medium low heat for an extra savory flavor and increased depth to your sauce.
Smooth, blended sauces keep well in the freezer, and can even be stored in ice cube trays or in similar smaller quantities rather than in large containers.
"If blending sauce after cooking, use an immersion blender or a very low speed on your blender," says Roszkowski. "Too much blending force will aerate and lighten your sauce, while also diluting the flavor."
Tomato Paste and Ketchup
These two methods of preserving tomatoes overlap, since ketchup is made using tomato paste.
Tomato Paste
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We're accustomed to buying tomato paste in a can or tube, but it's actually quite simple to make at home yourself. Tomato paste is pureed tomatoes that are cooked down for many hours at a low temperature either on the stovetop or in the oven. It takes time and attention, as it's a process that requires a lot of stirring over several hours, but making homemade tomato paste is worth it.
Once the tomato paste is done, store it in small jars and keep them as you would fresh canned tomatoes, or store the tomato paste in the fridge for several months. Make sure the surface of the paste is airtight: this can mean using a piece of plastic wrap pressed to the surface, or covering it in a puddle of oil that gets replaced every time you scoop out some paste.
Tomato Ketchup
Adding Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and spices to a thickened (but not quite pasty) tomato paste will yield a fabulous homemade ketchup. And is there anything you can't use it for? It'll be your go-to dip for fries, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, burgers, and more.
8 Fruits and Vegetables You Didn't Know You Could Freeze
Freezing Tomatoes
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Storing whole tomatoes in a zip-top bag in the freezer is an unglamorous, but extremely effective (and easy!) way of preserving tomatoes for future seasons. It's not even necessary to peel them beforehand, as frozen tomatoes are even easier to peel than fresh. Be sure to score the bottoms with an x before freezing, and eliminate as much air from the bag as possible. A food vacuum sealer is also an effective tool for this job. Of course, frozen tomatoes are ideal for cooking and sauces—less so salads and sandwiches.
