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3:14 pm
Senior Class
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Tue 20-Jul-10
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Probably everyone on here knows this, so if any moderator wants to delete this as old hat, feel free.
We had a glut of plum tomatoes this year. I froze about 20 kilos as I picked them, whole and unwashed. I now use these very successfully in place of tinned toms in all sorts of dishes, especially pasta sauces and pizza tomato paste. But I have long had a bit of a problem with the digestibility of some tomato skins. So I now put the three or four big frozen toms I'm going to use in a pyrex bowl and pour boiling water on to cover them. Within seconds the skins split and come adrift, but because the toms are still frozen you can still handle them to pull the skins off. I then chop and use in the normal way, allowing a bit of extra cooking time to bring the toms up to temp. Hope this is of some use. If you all knew this already, well, I've just discovered it, and I think it's brilliant!
What's wrong with the politics of envy, anyway?
4:05 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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Well I didn't know about it so you don't need to worry! If I ever get a freezer I'll know what to do with tomatoes.
I'll try that again!
4:33 pm
Expert
Wed 23-Sep-09
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I think it's brilliant too! I didn't know you could freeze toms whole without making them into passata or something first. 
If I'm skinning them from unfrozen I score through the skin 2x the whole way round to give quarters before covering with boiling water, helps the skin peel off.
11:18 pm
Sat 12-Aug-06
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Well I think it's brilliant too, John. We always process ours and never thought you could simply freeze them. Neat trick re de-skinning from frozen. Many thanks. 
Have a beer on us! 
Never knowingly underfed
11:26 pm
Supreme Being
Thu 24-Sep-09
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Totally agree. I have always processed tomatoes before freezing. I shall definitely try this. Thank you John 
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
11:37 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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Great to hear this John, I frozen several kilos of cherry toms a month or two ago as we were getting sick of tomato salad, tomato sandwiches, roasted tomatoes, etc etc. Aim to make some chilli Jam when I get a mo.
1:11 am
Councillor
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I am constantly surprised how often the obvious isn't obvious. 
That never occurred to me to just throw them in the freezer, I always took the time to blanch them first.
Do they seem to stay separate better since they have their skins on?
That's one of the great things about the forum, everyone is willing to share the results of their experiments!
If you can't be a shining example, be a terrible warning!
11:22 am
Councillor
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Thu 7-Jan-10
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Michelle from Oregon said:
Do they seem to stay separate better since they have their skins on?
They stay separate unless they are wet when you throw them into the freezer. They often split, and may stick together then. I sometimes freeze them on a tray and then bag them, sometimes I bag them and then freeze them. A real bonus is that you can use them from frozen in salsa or even in salad. With cherry tomatoes I just wait till they have slightly thawed and can be cut in half and throw them into a salad, or chop them up and put them into salsa. 
blog: Devon Garden
12:55 pm
Councillor
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Tue 20-Apr-10
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Brilliant, I did the same this year with runner beans without blanching although I did slice them first and that is working out just fine. Watch out tomatoes, it will be your turn next year too !!
I have reached an age where my train of thought often leaves the station without me...
2:09 pm
Councillor
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Tue 20-Apr-10
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Changing the angle somewhat, can anyone please tell me with bread making I freeze the finished loaf but is it possible to freeze the dough at any point prior to baking the bread ?
I have reached an age where my train of thought often leaves the station without me...
4:17 pm
Supreme Being
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Hi Chris - I haven't tried this, but after googling, it would appear that many do freeze bread dough. See here for an example - ignoring the advert to 'cut down a bit of your belly each day' - it's a bit same-y every time you google something !!
...... 
In fact, I think I might try doing some bread myself, as I have some fresh yeast in the fridge!
Good luck!
6:26 pm
Councillor
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Thu 7-Jan-10
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brightspark said:
. See here for an example - ignoring the advert to 'cut down a bit of your belly each day' - it's a bit same-y every time you google something !!
Ads, what ads--ad blocker on Firefox works wonders! I managed to install it myself, 
and eventually to get the filters to work. I did have to uninstall it and start again 
but now it works.
I don't even see ads on the CSH site, 
to get away from Danny!
blog: Devon Garden
12:34 pm
3rd Grader
New members
Mon 17-Oct-11
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I presume the tomatoes you are freezing are red?
I've got loads of green tomatoes - pounds and pounds of them in fact - and I really don't know what to do with them. I think I have enough chutney and they are simply not turning red. So, would there be any point in freezing them?
2:11 pm
Knowledegable
Wed 23-Sep-09
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I don't know I'm afraid, but if you're bored with chutney, you can make nice jam with green tomatoes and a bit of lemon.
2:42 pm
Supreme Being
New members
Sun 30-Jan-11
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We had 3 trugfuls of green tomatoes that I initially thought would never turn....but they did! Left them on a sunny windowsill with a couple of red toms in each trug, it took a week or two but eventually almost all of them turned. And once a few started, it seemed to prompt the rest to redden within a couple of days. The warmth of the sun through the glass was the big prompt, I'm sure.
learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
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