The tomato plants are coming back to life after the hail beat them down! Among the dead leaves these Romas are ripening nicely!

I decided there weren't enough tomatoes to go through the entire canning process. I chose to stew and crush the tomatoes and to freeze them.







I first peeled the tomatoes.

1. wash the tomatoes and make a tiny slit with a paring knife going under the skin slightly


2. put the tomatoes in boiling water for about 1 minute


3. remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and plunge them into ice cold water.

4. the skin should be loose and practically fall off in your hands

5. use a paring knife to peel away skins that don't fall away.















Then I core and seed the tomatoes.
1. cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out the seeds or use a spoon to remove the seeds
2. cut away any remaining core

Next I stewed the tomatoes over low to medium heat for 10minutes in a covered pan with a pinch of sea salt. Then I gently crushed the tomatoes.

Finally I placed the batch in one Reynolds Handi-Vac bag and placed it in the freezer until hardened. Once hardened I used the Handi-Vac to remove the air from the bag.

I have read different articles on whether or not to add an acid, vinegar or lemon juice, to tomatoes that are frozen just like you do in canning. I know I will use these tomatoes within a few weeks and am not worried about spoiling. If you are planning to freeze tomatoes for use months out, I suggest you research further to see what is best.