Keep a taste of summer in your freezer to enjoy throughout the season! I personally love growing Roma tomatoes, but you can preserve any type quickly and easily. Theoretically, I suppose you could just pop your tomatoes in the freezer with skins and all, however, I find it easiest to blanch and peel them before freezing them so I can cook with them from frozen rather than having to thaw and then peel. I think the blanching probably kills anything "icky" on them, too.
First you'll want to wash your tomatoes. Then use a coring tool or a knife to cut an "x" through one end of each tomato.
Now you will want to set up three stations: A pot of boiling water, a big bowl of ice water, and a place to peel your tomatoes -- it's easiest if these are all in a row.
Remove from ice water to a paper towel, cutting board or platter and then just peel the skins right off. The stems and skins go straight to my compost pile afterward.
I like to place my beautifully peeled tomatoes in a single layer inside a freezer bag to save space. Before sealing the bag, use a straw to suck the air out.If you plan to use your summer tomatoes for soups, you may want to remove the seeds before freezing as well. To do this, after peeling, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds. I like to strain the seeds from the "juice" that comes out with them and then pour the juice back in with the tomatoes so I'm not missing out on any tomato goodness.
Happy Peeling!
You can watch a video of this process at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhY5vz7koc
