This delicious vegetarian dish is a great one to have on standby in the freezer and is a good vegetarian option for the main Christmas meal.
Tomatoes
Freeze? Yes
In season June to October
Store In the fridge
Great source of vitamin C
A popular and versatile food that can be used in many different ways from hearty meals to light lunches and as a healthy snack. There are lots of different varieties from cherry tomatoes on the vine to the larger beef tomotoes. They are packed with nutrients too, such as vitamin C and beta-carotene.
How to store
How to store fresh tomatoes
Store your tomatoes in the fridge to keep them fresher for longer. For best taste, take them out of the fridge up to 24 hours before eating them.
Freezing tomatoes
Fresh and cooked tomoatoes can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Storing cooked tomatoes
In fridge for 2 days, in freezer for 3 months.
Tomatoes Top tips
How to freeze and defrost
To freeze: Whole cherry tomatoes can be frozen and used straight from the freezer. Try making a sauce with any squishy tomatoes and freezing this for use in pasta or casserole dishes another day.
To defrost: When you take food/ drink out of the freezer, it’s important to defrost it safely. Use cherry tomatoes from frozen in your cooking. Defrost a homemade tomato sauce fully in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Or use a microwave on the defrost setting directly before using
Eating the whole food
Tomato vines have a super-intense tomatoes-in-a-greenhouse flavour - add to a tomato sauce whilst cooking.
Be fabulous with leftovers
Make sauce (or ketchup) with leftover squishy tomatoes. Or dice them into a salsa with a red onion and leftover herbs. Mix with stale bread for a delicious salad (panzanella). Fry leftover red or orange pepper with an onion, some garlic, loads of tomatoes and blend into a soup.
Buying tips
Think about buying tomatoes loose to help you buy only what you need. This will ensure that all your food is more likely to be eaten and saved from the bin.
Perfect portions
Use our portion calculator for a quick and simple way to check how much of this food to serve at mealtimes.
Valuing your Tomatoes beyond the price tag
Goodness in food
Your food is more than its shape, colour and price. Your food has an important role to play to help keep you healthy and with enough energy to live your life how you wish to.
- Good source of vitamin C which helps to keep your skin healthy.
- A source of potassium which is a mineral that helps the heart muscle work properly.
- A portion of tomatoes counts towards your five-a-day
Food story
By the time your food arrives in your home, it’s already been on quite a journey starting with how it’s made or grown and how your food reaches the supermarket.
So please help our food to finish its story in the most sustainable way, ensuring the planet’s resources that’s already used are put to good use. Take care of your food when it’s in your home and ensure every edible morsel is eaten - and that your food doesn’t end up in the bin!
Why not try these delicious recipes to use up Tomatoes
This versatile sauce can use up a host of ingredients and can be paired with pasta or egg - two meals in one!
This recipe uses up all those half eaten jars of pesto and dressings from the fridge and cupboards. As with all these recipes they can be played with, altered and refined depending on the ingredients you have at hand.
