can one freeze tomatoes and peppers ??

[whelen36]

is it possible to freeze/store tomatoes and peppers ??? and is there any special way to do it if you can ???? i've got a lot coming in my garden this year and can't use them all up and would like to save them if possible . any help is greatly appreciated .
whelen36
stephen d.

[JeffS]

yes I know you can freeze both. My mother freezes them all the time and then uses them for cooking later. I know the pepper you don't have to do anything to, but I'm sure if she blanches the tomatoes or not first.

[whelen36]

what's " blanches " bud , i'm not familiar with that term ??

[JeffS]

drop them in boiling water for a few seconds and the skin will peel right off.

[whelen36]

thank you JeffS

[kevin1]

Blanching is best done with a dip in boiling water followed by immersion in ice water to halt the cooking process before freezing the product . This is how I prep sweet corn for the freezer to kill the starching enzymes . Peppers will freeze , but they'll probably get mushy . Whole tomatoes don't freeze well IME , they turn mushy very easily so you might as well cook them first .

[jerseyhunter]

I blanch peppers for a min or two. Thencut into desired pieces, place on cookie sheet, freeze then quickly heat sheet and put frozen peppers into plastic bags then back in the freezer. Not mushy at all.

[Big Guy01]

For Tomatoes freeze whole, when they thaw the skin will slip off easily.

Peppers seed them, cut them into about 1/2 " dice and freeze in bags. To use I just bang the frozen stuff to loosen up, open the bag and take what I need.Close the bag andback in the freezer.

[whelen36]

will these procedures work on brussel sprouts as well ?????

thanks guys , i can use all the help i can get

[jerseyhunter]

will these procedures work on brussel sprouts as well ?????

sure will, blanch em and freeze em.

There are books on canning and freezing that have specific times for blanching different vegetables.