With winter in full swing, you need to start preparing your crops for storage if you haven’t already. Tomatoes are one of the tastiest and easiest foods you can grow as a farmer.
However, storing them requires careful planning and preparation. With that in mind, here is your guide on how to properly store tomatoes during the winter.
Freeze Your Tomatoes for Long-Term Preservation
Before freezing your tomatoes, the first thing you should do is cut off the stem from each one. Then, place the tomatoes in containers. If you have a small freezer, you will want to put them into plastic bags.
However, if you have a walk-in freezer, you can place the tomatoes without the stems into
tomato cartons and put plastic wrap over the top. This is the simplest way to preserve your tomatoes for a lengthy period, but you should know that your tomatoes might not taste the same when you thaw them as they would when they’re fresh.
Grate Or Cut Your Tomatoes To Save Freezer Space
Depending on what you want to use the tomatoes for after you thaw them, you can save some freezer space by cutting or grating the tomatoes before you freeze them. You can dice your tomatoes, then drain out the seeds and juice from each one so that only the fiber is left. Otherwise, you can use a grate to condense your tomatoes, but this will eliminate the water from the tomatoes, so they won’t be useful for making soup or sauce afterward.
Store Your Tomato Sauce in Jars
Another option for storing your tomatoes during winter is making tomato sauce and storing them in jars in your refrigerator. First, clean off all your crops, then quarter them up and put them all in a large pot. With your stove set to medium heat, you will begin boiling the tomatoes, releasing all their juices in the process.
Stir occasionally to remove foam buildup at the top of the pot. Once your tomatoes change color, you can take the pot off the stove and blend them up. Pour the sauce into jars and label them with the date so you can keep track of how long they’ve been in storage, then the process is complete!
Overall, tomatoes are delicious year-round, but you need to store them properly if you want to preserve them. Now that you know how to properly store tomatoes during the winter, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
