I'm new to gardening/canning. Life got busy and I left my tomatoes in the freezer longer than I intended. They now have some freezer burn in the bags. Are the still safe to use for canning pizza/Marinara sauce? And I'd love tips on how to prevent this in the future. Thanks!
by madamezironi
6 Comments
Idk how to help but I hope they’re still good 🙏
Do they actually have freezer burn or is it just moisture that froze?
You can do the crushed tomatoes on NCHFP safely with frozen maters!
I grow mostly cherry tomatoes, and I freeze a good amount of them to use through the year. I always flash freeze my tomatoes before they go into baggies.
Basically, wash the tomatoes and spread them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the tomatoes like that; after a day or two, pop them into baggies. This prevents sticking/excess moisture.
Hope this helps, and happy saucing!
I thaw them in the bags, drain the juice/tomato water into a pot and cook it down. the skins solids and seeds I run through a food mill, add it to the reducing liquid and cook to desired thickness.
you’re safe to can it if you follow a tested recipe, but for that amount i’d just use it fresh from the fridge over the next few weeks.
Freezer burn will show up on the food as dried out, discolored patches. It’s not unsafe, but can affect the taste and texture. You can cut away any actual bits that are bad, You could just have ice crystals that haven’t affected the food yet.