Produce Box:
Salad Mix, Beets, Kale, Broccoli, Fresh Onions
and Tomatoes!
Tomato preservation ideas.
August and September are perfect months to put up tomatoes for the winter. Here are some ideas on how you can preserve the harvest.
Canning: Follow a
USDA approved recipe to either make sauce or can stewed tomatoes. I suggest keeping your sauce simple. You can always add garlic, onions and seasonings to it while you are heating it up in the winter.
Drying: Our juicy tomatoes can be challenging to dry as you need to remove the moisture from the tomatoes in a warm enviornment with enough air circulation so they actually dry rather than cook or bake. For this, I suggest a dehydrator that can be homemade or purchased. The method of drying fruits on the car dash-board has been reported as possible, though for me the dehydrator is the way to go!
Freezing: Zip-lock freezer bags are your best friend when you want to put up lots of tomatoes and sauce in a short amount of time. Because they will turn soft after freezing, it is best to actually make a tomato sauce or roast your tomatoes before putting them up to freeze. Add garlic, onions and spices so your sauce is ready to go. Unlike canning tomatoes, you don't have to worry about the ph before freezing, so this is the time to get creative with your own recipe.
Remember! You should always label your food that you are putting up! Stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and salsa all look the same in a frozen zip-lock bag!
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