Too many tomatoes is a great problem to have! Whether you’ve found a killer deal at the grocery store or farmer’s market, or your garden is overflowing with juicy, ripe, tomatoes just begging to be used up, having too many tomatoes on your hand is awesome, but also poses a big challenge. How on earth can you use up all those delicious tomatoes?
Well, we’ve got you covered. All it takes is a little creativity! Here are some great suggestions for how to make the most of a big bounty of tomatoes.
Canning
This is the classic way to preserve extra tomatoes, and definitely on the top of the list for a reason. You can can them whole, diced, pureed, or in delicious tomato sauces or even salsas! Then, all winter long, you can add your tomatoes to pastas, casseroles, chili, etc.
Ferments
You can of course can up all your tomatoes or tomato sauces, but did you know you can lacto-ferment them too? We’re big fans of lacto-fermentation around here, which not only naturally preserves tomatoes, it will enhance the nutritional content as well! Lacto-fermented salsa (recipe coming soon!) is a great way to make the most of a lot of tomatoes, and preserve them long-term.
Trade
Do you live in a big farming and/or gardening area? Try talking to your friends and neighbors and see if their gardens are overflowing with something you don’t have! Trade some tomatoes for delicious cucumbers or zucchini, or even dairy, eggs, manure, whatever they’ve got to spare!
Freeze
If canning or lacto-fermenting aren’t your thing, you can of course always just chop them up and freeze them! Frozen tomato can be used much in the same way that canned tomato can be. This is a great option if you don’t have too much time to invest in complex preservation projects but would still like to have a nice supply of tomatoes on hand to use through the winter.
Tomatoes are delicious, nutritious, and a cornerstone of many great dishes. If you end up with a lot of them, make sure you use them and preserve them well!
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