Green Tomato Red

Got green tomatoes? Here's one solution you might try. And it's really simple.

Our neighbors seemed bitter about the cold snap in October that stopped their vast tomato crop from ripening on the vine. We suggested they pick the tomatoes anyway, even though they were green. There are lots of recipes for using green tomatoes in salsas and other good things. They were inspired, but there was one bucket of ugly rejects the wife wanted to throw out

"Oh, you can cut those up and freeze them," I told her. "Don't need to throw them out." She seemed skeptical. Later that day, her husband handed Jeff the bucket over the fence.

All of them were green and came in a variety of breeds and sizes. I spread them all out on my counter, tops down, to ripen. Tomatoes will do that very nicely. In about a week or two, I filled my large colander with them and set to work.

After washing them, I decided I only had energy to freeze this batch instead of bottling them. In fact, the last batch I bottled ended in a small disaster when one popped open in the hot wash, contaminating the water. I only got two bottles out of that batch, too. Not worth the supreme effort. Meanwhile, another batch I froze turned out beautifully. Texturally and taste-wise, they were "fresh." And that process is easy!

I found only a few were "cosmetically challenged." Heritage tomatoes, of course, are always funny looking. That's their destiny. But oh are they luscious! Then, there are those that have calcium rot on the bottom or other spots. That can all be cut away, leaving plenty of ripe, juicy tomato to preserve. Then there were the small, still-green tomatoes that I decided weren't worth the bother to cut. My arthritic hands are only good for so long. So, not much out of this neighborly benevolence went into the garbage.

The easy way to do this is cut up the tomatoes and place them on a cookie tray. This allows each piece to freeze separately; otherwise, they'll stick together. (Maybe this isn't a problem with tomatoes.) This process, by the way, is a great way to preserve fresh berries and fruit. I will never attempt to bottle peaches again. Absolutely never again! My mother used to bottle peaches, pears, and (for the love of all that is holy) cherries. But that's a story for a different day.

After I filled three trays, I covered them with paper towels and stacked them in my freezer for at least twelve hours. Then I put them in a freezer bag and placed them in my refrigerator freezer to be added to stews, soups, and pasta sauces.

Of course, if I had tons of tomatoes, I would put out the energy to make a large pot of sauce, using onions, garlic, rosemary, basil, and oregano from our gardens; hopefully enough to make several bottles worth. That was my original plan as I watched these becoming redder. For small batches, though, freezing is the only way to go. Quick and easy. Anybody can do this. So don't let that early freeze ruin your plans for your tomato crop. Lay them out to ripen inside, then freeze them. You'll be able to liven up your winter dishes for months to come.

All photos by Sue Cauhape

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