By late summer, backyard tomato plants hit their stride, leaving successful gardeners with a surplus of fruit. Whether the vines are yielding a slow trickle or a full-on avalanche, a few simple tricks can help gardeners pick tomatoes at the right time, ripen them with confidence and preserve the harvest into winter.
Knowing when and how to pick
• Harvest when a tomato has reached full color and yields slightly to a gentle squeeze; anything mushier is overripe.
• Cradle the fruit and give it a gentle twist at the stem to separate it from the vine, using pruners if it puts up a fight.
• Check plants every day or two. Overripe fruit left on the vine invites pests, splits its skin and quickly turns mushy.
• If a hard freeze is in the forecast, pick every tomato showing any color, along with the largest green ones, to finish ripening indoors.
Ripening indoors
• Ripen tomatoes on the counter, out of direct sunlight, placing unripe tomatoes stem-side down. Most will ripen fully within a few days to a week at room temperature.
• Avoid the refrigerator, as refrigeration halts the ripening process and creates a mealy texture.
• To speed up ripening, place a tomato in a paper bag with a ripe banana or apple; the extra ethylene gas accelerates the process. Check daily to remove ripe tomatoes before they soften too much.
Canning the harvest
• Gather the necessary gear: a water bath canner or large stockpot with a rack, glass canning jars, new lids, bands, a jar lifter, a canning funnel and a bubble remover.
• Use firm, ripe, blemish-free tomatoes for canning whole, while Roma or paste varieties are best suited for sauce.
• Always add acid to ensure a safe, shelf-stable result, as tomatoes border on low acidity. Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice per quart, or 1 tablespoon per pint, or use citric acid.
• To peel easily, score an "X" on the bottom of each tomato, dip it in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then plunge it into an ice bath so the skin slips right off.
• Leave a half-inch of headspace at the top of each jar to ensure a proper seal.
• Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 45 minutes, adding five minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level.
• Let jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. A lid that does not flex when pressed in the center indicates a successful seal.
Freezing without the fuss
• For a lower-effort alternative, wash, core and freeze whole tomatoes on a baking sheet until solid before transferring them to bags. Skins will slip off easily once thawed.
• Chop or crush diced tomatoes to the desired recipe consistency using the same blanch-and-peel method used in canning.
• Pack tomatoes in 1- or 2-cup portions to easily thaw only what is needed later.
• Press out excess air using heavy-duty freezer bags or a vacuum sealer to preserve flavor for up to 12 months.
• Freeze tomato sauce or juice in ice cube trays, then bag them for quick flavor additions to future soups and sauces.
• For extra depth, halve tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, roast at 375 degrees until caramelized, then cool and freeze.
• Thaw frozen tomatoes overnight in the refrigerator or in cold water. Any liquid released is normal and flavorful.
• Label all bags with a date and quantity for easy identification.
-Westlake Ace Hardware
