topic Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help! in Kitchen

Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

house_cat — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 23:19:58 GMT

My son and DIL keep bringing me more and more home grown heirloom tomatoes. I'm not a big tomato fan and never eat them raw. Can I make sauce out of them?

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

On It — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 23:36:46 GMT

@house_cat I saw a lady on tv who dried her tomatoes to use in soups, casseroles, etc. throughout the year. I would think there would be some suggestions online for freezing them if you do not have a gadget that dries veggies.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Snowpuppy — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 23:49:07 GMT

Make sauce and freeze in quart or gallon Ziploc bags. Whatever size suits your needs.

Lay flat in the freezer, Pioneer Woman style. No need for canning jars.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

jannabelle1 — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 23:53:31 GMT

Re-gift them to people who love fresh, sliced tomatoes! Heirlooms are wonderful just sliced with S&P, or served with cottage cheese or tuna salad (or chicken salad).

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

PA Mom-mom — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:07:22 GMT

@house_cat You can chop them up and freeze them in ziploc bags or quart containers and make them into soup or sauce later. Or, you can cook them down now with basil, onion and garlic for pasta sauce. Then you can freeze the sauce. I do both.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Sooner — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:11:26 GMT

@jannabelle1 wrote:
Re-gift them to people who love fresh, sliced tomatoes! Heirlooms are wonderful just sliced with S&P, or served with cottage cheese or tuna salad (or chicken salad).

@jannabelle1 Or between two pieces of white bread with mayo! Crusts removed please and a light sprinkle of salt!

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Kitlynn — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:21:00 GMT

Absolutely you can make sauce out of them! You can also make chow chow. Of course all of the things you can do mostly require canning. You can also just give them to me! I love love love tomatoes!

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Eileen in Virginia — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:21:55 GMT

@house_cat Send them down here! Heirloom tomatoes are selling for $5.99 per pound at the farm stand I go to. We LOVE summer tomatoes!

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

chessylady — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:30:29 GMT

Tomato and cheese sandwich cooked like a grilled cheese sandwich. Brushetta- slice and grill crusty French bread, chop tomato, buy fresh mozzarella balls and slice, then stack tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil leaves on each bread slice and drizzle with olive oil. If you don't love it you can bring it to a party as an appetizer.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

SilleeMee — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:53:17 GMT

The best Bloody Mary I ever had was made with homemade tomato juice. Make juice! It's so good.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Leggett28 — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 00:57:15 GMT

I'm jealous. If someone gave me Heirloom tomatoes I would be in heaven. I would just slice them up and eat. My husband calls me the Tomato whisper 😊

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

x Hedge — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 01:03:55 GMT

@house_cat wrote:
My son and DIL keep bringing me more and more home grown heirloom tomatoes. I'm not a big tomato fan and never eat them raw. Can I make sauce out of them?

Oooh! How I envy your steady, fresh tomato supply!

Yes, you can make sauce.

I usually make tomato soup and if I have an excess I freeze it. I also freeze diced tomatoes. Love having that homegrown flavor in the winter months. Sometimes I take some frozen dices and make them into soup.😁 It's so good!

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

ECBG — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 01:06:46 GMT

Absolutely, but the jars have to be processed.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

KathyM23 — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 01:27:03 GMT

Boy @house_cat I wish you could gift them to me! I love home grown tomatoes

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

rms1954 — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 01:54:13 GMT

@house_cat Why not? That's what is used in tomato sauce. Lot of work though.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

PINKdogWOOD — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 11:50:51 GMT

So many lusciouis tomatoes this year! Everyone I see and talk to have beautiful bountiful crops of all sorts of tomatoes including us, big ones small ones, middle sized and tiny. It is all good this season!

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

JeanLouiseFinch — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 12:48:19 GMT

Heirlooms are my favorite. I was at the organic farm store several times a week last year, to buy them. This year I decided to put in my own plants. I'm eating more than I really should but they are so good. Make some sauce and freeze it.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

house_cat — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 13:20:47 GMT

Thanks, everyone. Those are great suggestions. I actually like tomato sauce and tomato soup, but very much dislike them raw. For some reason I thought heirlooms were not suitable for sauce. I will use the suggestion of freezing it flat, in bags. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

Sooner — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 14:13:14 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
Absolutely, but the jars have to be processed.

@ECBG That's not hard because you do not have to have a pressure canner. You just have to be very careful, sterilize the jars well, follow instructions to the letter then put the filled and lidded jars in a water bath.

There are little kits of needed equipment and the Ball Blue Book of Canning is excellent.

If you understand the process, it's not hard. I used to do it for a hobby, and won fair ribbons! Some people find it fun. I haven't done it in a very very long time though "due to circumstances beyond my control."

Re: Heirloom tomato abundanza! Help!

RedTop — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 14:28:28 GMT

Heirloom tomatoes are low acid, so it is very important to add lemon juice if you can them. Not an issue if you freeze the tomatoes or products made from them.