Buzz
Ideally, you’d process all your tomatoes in a single weekend, saving yourself from the tiring ordeal of heating up the kitchen, burning your fingers, and being constantly on your feet. The goal would be to get all the help you can muster, or at least enjoy an entire season or two of TV on your own.
If you’re clever, you’d buy all your tomatoes at once. But for those of us with a bit more determination—namely gardeners—we insist on growing them ourselves. The ripe ones don’t come all at once but instead trickle in over six weeks. It’s the ultimate tease, forcing you to tend to them every few days during that long stretch. Here’s how you can speed up that process, so you’re not stuck in the kitchen all August.
Collect and freeze
Once your tomatoes are ripe, place them in freezer bags, try to remove as much air as possible—though it can be tricky due to the shape of the tomatoes—and freeze them. Defrost them when needed; the benefit is that the skins peel right off when you do.
The downsides include the fact that the tomatoes lose their shape entirely; you’re left with mush. Personally, I also find the flavor lacking after freezing. However, if you have the freezer space, this is the best way to store tomatoes until you're ready to use them. Plus, realistically, you’d probably cook the tomatoes down anyway, so the mushiness works in your favor.
Process and store
If I’ve got a good enough batch but not quite enough to can, I’ll peel and roast the tomatoes, bringing them to the point where I’d normally can them, and then refrigerate them for a few days until more tomatoes are ready to harvest. This method isn’t permanent—you only have a few days—but once you combine these with your other processed tomatoes, you’ll be boiling them and processing in a hot water bath or pressure canner. If done correctly, everything should be fine.
Pick them while still green
This might be a controversial opinion, but I stand by it. If you pick your tomatoes while they’re still green and let them ripen indoors, they’ll all ripen at once. Try it with a few to see for yourself. Store them in a brown paper bag with a banana, and no matter how green they were, they will ripen. The trick is to check them every day, remove the ripe ones, and make sure they’re turned and given fresh air.
Trade them
This is my favorite method. I have lots of friends with gardens, and I often trade my early tomatoes for their late ones. We all end up with the perfect number of tomatoes to process.
Let it go
I’m a good gardener. I’m a good preserver. I have all the jars. But some years, I look at my garden and know I just don’t have the energy to preserve them. In those moments, it’s about preserving my sanity rather than the food. Sometimes, you just eat the tomatoes with some really good flaky salt. Or you make an indulgent batch of fresh salsa. Occasionally, you toss them into your Instant Pot to make tomato paste because it’s quick and simple. And when all else fails, gather them up and offer them to neighbors on their morning walks, like you’re handing out apples. It’s okay if the joy the tomatoes bring ends up with someone else.
