Do you have a garden or simply enjoy stocking up on seasonal produce in the summer? By August you might have more than you need and notice everything’s ripening all at once. Don’t let those beautiful, end-of-season tomatoes or that gorgeous fruit go bad! Instead, preserve that summertime goodness with one of these methods.
Concasse it!
Have extra Roma, beefsteak or other larger tomatoes? This classic French method of preservation involves cutting an X on the bottom of each tomato, blanching them in a large pot of water, and cooking them until the skins begin to peel off, about 40 seconds. Drain and plunge the tomatoes in a large bowl of ice water to cool. Peel off the skins completely, cut in half crosswise and remove and discard seeds. You can store them whole like this, dice them for use in chilis, soups, salsas and stews, or crush or blend them to form the base of a sauce. If you’d rather not boil, roast the tomatoes on a sheet pan at 350 degrees F for about 30 to 40 minutes, cover them with foil for about 10 minutes, and then remove the skins once cool enough to handle.
Freeze it!
Tomatoes concasse, roasted tomatoes, and tomato sauce freeze really well. To freeze in individual portions, transfer the tomatoes in whole or chopped form to resealable plastic bags, press as much air out as possible, and lay them flat on a sheet tray in a single layer. Once the individual pieces are frozen you can store the bag as it fits in your freezer. You can use the same method of freezing certain types of fruit individually just like the produce pros do. Scatter extra peas, berries or lightly blanched broccoli or cauliflower florets out on a sheet tray to freeze and transfer them to a bag when frozen. This way, you can use as much as you want when you want and put back the rest. For blended tomatoes and sauces, save space in your freezer by pouring them into small or medium-size resealable bags, gently pressing the air out before sealing, and laying them flat on a sheet tray or trays until frozen. Once frozen, the thin sheets take up less space and you can take one or two out at a time as you need them!
Puree it!
Certain vegetables freeze better when they’re cooked and blended into a soup base or puree versus frozen straight from the garden (here’s looking at you, green beans and asparagus). You can simply steam or lightly simmer these (or other veggies like broccoli and peas) in a touch of water with a little salt and blend them for a really basic start. Or skip the cooking and make a batch of gazpacho by blending super ripe tomatoes and cucumbers. Freeze using the same methods as the tomato sauce for minimal storage space.
Salsa it!
Spread tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, a few peeled garlic cloves, and a peeled, halved onion on a sheet tray and broil on medium until lightly charred, about 15 minutes. Cover with foil or a kitchen towel for 10 minutes. Peel some of the skins off the tomatoes, chiles and peppers (but it’s ok to leave a little char for smokiness). Slice hotter peppers like Serranos and jalapeños in half and then run them under cold water to remove the seeds and the stem. Toss all that into a blender along with the garlic and onion. Blend for a delicious salsa you can enjoy for a couple weeks in a glass jar in your fridge or freeze or can for longer-term storage.
Can it!
Canning can take a little extra effort and some specialty supplies, but once you figure it out, it’s a great way to truly preserve your bounty without taking up space in your fridge or freezer. We have the perfect how-to guide for you right here!
Pickle it!
This is great if you’re not ready to spend a day canning and just want to do a quick preserve. Boil up some water with equal parts salt and sugar until dissolved. Stuff green or yellow beans, sliced red onions, peppers, mini cucumbers or cucumber wedges into tall glass jars and pour the pickling liquid right over it. You can can those jars or just store them in your fridge for a couple weeks. Quick-pickling using just vinegar and some spices is an even easier way to rapidly preserve your produce. You can easily pour some apple cider vinegar over those veggies we talked about (I love doing this with red onions) and throw in some peppercorns or dill pretty easily without any cooking.
Dehydrate it!
Most of us don’t have dehydrators, but if you have a toaster oven, convention oven, or air fryer with a dehydrate setting or a low enough temperature of about 135 degrees F you can dehydrate chopped onions and garlic and then process them into powders (using a food processor or spice grinder) for your spice rack. It takes about 4 to 6 hours to fully dehydrate them once chopped and spread out on a sheet tray to slow-roast. Store the powders in extra spice jars that you’ve saved and cleaned or in other small glass containers and in a cool, dry place.