Among the emails I received recently, an unsettling reminder: According to the United Nations, globally, around 13.2 percent of the food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 19 percent of total global food production is wasted in households, in the food service and in retail all together. In the U.S., USDA estimates that between 30-40 percent of the food supply goes to waste. This “added up to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010.” These numbers can also be found in a variety of other reports published over the years. A staggering reality…
As you know, I grew up with limited access to food. I am against waste with every fiber of my being, and I get very upset with myself on the rare occasions when I let food spoil – remembering how much I needed food as a child. The statistics above came in as I was busy making another batch of tomato soup. Our garden has been overflowing with tomatoes, and I don’t plan on letting any of them go to waste 🙂
Since we have a lot of tomatoes, I will be freezing them to use in soups, stews and sauces over the coming months. I usually wash, dice and freeze them with the skins on, but there are several methods out there, which involve freezing tomatoes whole, with or without skins, blanching beforehand etc.
According to Southern Living’s Jessica Farthing:
- “You can freeze any kind of tomato, from Roma to heirloom to cherry. That’s great news for busy home cooks as freezing is the easiest method of preserving tomatoes”
- “You do not have to peel tomatoes before freezing. However, tomato skin can be more bitter than the sweet flesh of the fruit, making it less desirable for sauces. If you’d like those purees to be smooth, skinning is a great method to lessen the chunks found after cooking a whole tomato”
- “Blanching is perfect for easily peeling tomatoes before freezing. However while most vegetables, including corn on the cob, need to be blanched before freezing, it is not a requirement for tomatoes. If you’re using tomatoes within just a few months of freezing, you can skip the blanching method and just put them straight into the freezer after a good wash. If the tomatoes stay longer in cold conditions, the enzymes in the skin can change its color, texture, and flavor. It’s best to blanch if you’re planning on storing them for a while”
For step-by-step instructions and tips, you are welcome to check out Farthing’s article “5 Ways to Freeze Tomatoes so They Won’t Get Mushy” (August 8, 2025)
You can find my reviews and recipes/recipe suggestions featuring tomatoes here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
What do you do with excess tomatoes? And what is your favorite method to prevent food waste? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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