How I Preserve Garden Tomatoes for Winter

Every summer, when the garden starts giving us more tomatoes than we can use at once, this is one of the ways my family preserves them for the colder months.

It isn’t the traditional passata process. We use a high-powered blender instead of a tomato mill, which makes everything much quicker while still giving us a beautifully smooth tomato base.

The biggest thing for me is keeping it simple. I don’t add garlic, onion, olive oil, or a lot of seasoning before freezing because I want the tomatoes to stay versatile. Months later, I can decide whether that container becomes pasta sauce, something for polpette, eggplant or whatever else I’m making.

A few things I’ve learned along the way:

• Use the ripest tomatoes you have.

• Remove the core and anything bruised or damaged.

• A high-powered blender can save you the straining step.

• Keep the finished passata loose and pourable.

• Add the basil only once everything has completely cooled.

Want the full method?

I put the complete process - cooking times, blending, cooling, freezing + how I use it later into one easy guide below.