There comes a point every summer when the garden seems to decide that every tomato needs to ripen at the exact same time.
One day you’re waiting impatiently for the first red tomato.
A few weeks later, your counter is covered in them.
That’s one of my favorite problems to have.
Instead of letting an end-of-summer tomato harvest go to waste, this is the perfect time to start preserving some of that garden goodness for the colder months ahead.
1. Eat the Best Ones Fresh
Before preserving everything, enjoy them!
Fresh garden tomatoes are one of those things winter grocery-store tomatoes simply can’t replace.
Use them for tomato sandwiches, BLTs, salads, bruschetta, burgers, wraps and fresh salsa.
2. Make Fresh Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is one of the first things I think about when I have an abundance of tomatoes.
Cook tomatoes down with your favorite seasonings and use the sauce immediately, refrigerate or freeze it.
If you want to can tomato sauce for shelf-stable storage, use a current tested canning recipe. Tomato acidity can vary, so safe acidification and processing instructions matter.
3. Freeze Them
If you don’t have time to preserve everything immediately, freezing can buy you time.
Tomatoes can be frozen for later use in cooked dishes such as soups, sauces and chili.
They won’t have the texture of fresh tomatoes after thawing, but that’s perfectly fine when they’re headed into a pot anyway.
4. Dehydrate Tomatoes
Dehydrating concentrates tomato flavor and creates an ingredient that takes up very little pantry space.
Dried tomatoes can later be incorporated into soups, sauces and other cooked dishes.
Make sure they’re dried thoroughly before storage to reduce the risk of spoilage.
5. Make Salsa
Tomatoes, peppers and onions often seem to become abundant around the same time—which makes salsa an obvious choice.
Fresh salsa is easy.
Shelf-stable canned salsa requires more care.
Don’t freely change the proportions of tomatoes, peppers, onions and acid in a canning recipe. Use a tested salsa recipe specifically designed for home canning.
6. Make Tomato Soup
Homemade tomato soup is another great way to use a large amount at once.
Make a big batch for dinner and freeze extra portions for colder days.
7. Roast Them
Roasting tomatoes intensifies their flavor.
Add roasted tomatoes to pasta, soups, sauces, eggs or sandwiches.
You can also freeze roasted tomatoes for future meals.
8. Don’t Forget the Green Tomatoes
When frost approaches, don’t assume the remaining green tomatoes are useless.
Some can continue ripening indoors, while others can be used green in recipes specifically designed for them.
From Garden to Pantry
This is one of the reasons I love growing food.
The harvest doesn’t have to end when the plant does.
A tomato picked in August or September can become sauce for a cold winter dinner months later.
That’s the part of gardening that feels most like homesteading to me:
Grow it. Harvest it. Preserve it. Use it.