×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

Storing and Preserving your Tomatoes

Gardening Guide: The Everything Tomato Guide: All You Need to Know About Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating Delicious Tomatoes

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Storing and Preserving your Tomatoes

By Bill Dugan, Editor and Publisher

canned tomatoes

Canned tomatoes

So, you’ve picked plenty of tomatoes and you have more than you can eat in a week. Time to put together a preservation plan!

Freezing

Freezing is one of the quickest and easiest ways to prepare your tomatoes for storage. You can use peeled frozen tomatoes for sauces and soups whenever you like. Put them in different-sized bags or containers so you only defrost what you need.

  1. Choose perfectly ripe tomatoes. Wash them, remove stems, and boil them.
  2. Cool, drain, and peel the skins off. Pack in airtight bags, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Store flat in the freezer

If you have a vacuum food sealer, use it to prevent freezer burn and extend the storage life of your tomato crop.

Canning

Canning is a time-honored preservation method—and one you should only pursue if you have the right equipment. You must be careful to follow all canning directions to the letter in order to avoid botulism in your canned goods. We have a post in Food Gardening Daily that provides 10 rules to live by for pressure canning safety.

Tomatoes don’t have a long shelf-life, and when you have a billion pounds of tomatoes that come in all at once, you have to do something with them!

Ripe tomatoes will last 12 to 18 months canned. There are jellies, sauces and salsas, stewed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and tomato soups! Whatever you do, follow the instructions exactly on your tomato canning recipes, as tomatoes need tried-and-true canning techniques to stay safe to eat over long periods. For all canned foods, store jars at 50 to 70 degrees F and never above 95 degrees F.

Canned foods last a long time as long as they’re canned appropriately. Follow the tips below, but also make sure you’re following specific time-tested recipes for all of your canned foods, like the ones you can get from the manufacturer or Ball jars.

  • Use the right sterile supplies. When storing food without refrigeration via the canning method, only use cans, lids, and materials that are intended for canning vegetables. Be sure they are clean and sterile before and during use.
  • Read your canning instructions carefully. Follow instructions that come with your canning tools. Use proven recipes and don’t deviate from them. The USDA has an extensive Complete Guide to Home Canning covering everything from tomatoes to vegetables to fruits and even meats and seafood. There is a lot of information in the guide that’s well worth looking through if you’re thinking about canning.
  • Use additives like lemon juice or citric acid. Adding lemon juice or citric acid will increase the acidity in your jars, which will make them safer for longer-term storage. As previously stated, you should always follow reputable canning recipes.

Dehydration

You can also dehydrate your harvested tomatoes. Lay out your tomatoes evenly and spread them out in a food dehydrator for about eight hours, or on parchment-lined baking sheets for four to 10 hours at your oven’s lowest setting. Store in an airtight jar out of the light.

For another idea, try hanging your tomatoes out to dry, or laying them out in the sun for sun-dried tomatoes!

How do you store your tomatoes for the long-term? Leave a comment and let me know!

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

food gardening, frozen tomatoes, tomatoes

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Types of Tomato Plants: Standard, Hybrid and Heirloom
  • Preventing Cross Pollination of Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Classifications of Tomato Plants: Determinate vs. Indeterminate
  • Varieties of Tomato Plants
  • Growing Tomatoes from Seeds, Cuttings, or Seedlings
  • Growing Tomatoes in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds
  • Soil Requirements for Growing Tomatoes
  • The Right Sunlight for Your Tomatoes
  • Should You Fertilize Tomato Plants?
  • How and When to Water Tomato Plants
  • Harvesting and Pruning your Tomatoes
  • Storing and Preserving your Tomatoes
  • How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Tomato Diseases
  • What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Tomato Plants
  • The Right Way to Weed Your Tomato Garden
  • Tomato Rot: How to Identify, Treat, and Prevent Blossom-End Rot
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Tomatoes
  • Plant Profiles

  • Green Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • Red Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • San Marzano Tomatoes
  • Roma (or Plum) Tomatoes
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Recipes

  • Balsamic Bruschetta
  • Tomato Salsa
  • Authentic Italian Pizza Sauce
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Stewed Tomatoes
  • Salsa Seafood Soup
  • Roasted Tomato Sauce
  • Cherry Tomato Salad
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Tomatoes
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Tomatoes
  • Resources about Tomatoes
  • Tomatoes Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • The Biggest Basil and Tomato Companion Planting Benefits
  • 7+ Perfect Plants for an Edible Front Porch Garden
  • The Best Vegetables to Grow in a Greenhouse
  • The Best Grow Lights for Tomatoes and Peppers
  • The 15 Best Beefsteak Tomatoes To Grow in 2023
  • How to Prune Tomato Plants, Peppers, Cucumbers and More
  • How to Stop Vegetable Blight from Ruining Tomatoes
  • Yellow Leaves on Tomato Plants? 5 Reasons and Remedies
  • 5 Tomato Canning Supplies to Preserve Sauce Longer
  • How to Ripen Tomatoes Quickly Three Ways
  • How to Kill Aphids on Tomato Plants with Stuff from Your Pantry
  • Gardening Equipment Every Tomato Gardener Needs
  • How to Grow Your Own Pizza Garden for the Best Pizza Parties
  • How to Avoid Tomato Blossom End Rot
  • How to Make Chicken Cacciatore in a Crock-Pot
  • The 5 Best Tomatoes for Salsa
  • The 10 Sweetest Tomatoes to Plant

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.