Most flavourful methods of storing tomatoes

We don't always have access to tomatoes fresh off the vine, but we can do our best to retain the flavours of the ones we have. Try out these storage methods to get the most out of your tomatoes, any time of the year.

Ripe, juicy, just-picked tomatoes have a rich, vibrant taste. But it isn't improved by refrigeration. Keep good tomatoes in the pantry in a basket so air can circulate around them.

Even if you don't grow your own, it's worth it to get good tomatoes in season from a farmers' market or farm stand and preserve them for future use. Older cookbooks told you how to can tomatoes, but canning takes a long time and makes a mess.

• To freeze tomatoes, just cut out the tough part of the core, put the whole tomatoes on a baking sheet and into the freezer, says Jyl Steinback, author of TheBusy Mom's Slow Cooker Cookbook
• After they've frozen, transfer them to a plastic zipper bag and put them back into the freezer
• When you want to use them, you can easily peel them if you allow them to thaw until they're just barely soft on the outside, then just rub off the skins. Or you can run warm tap water over them and peel them immediately
• Use them in recipes for any cooked dish

They're convenient, yes, because you don't have to cut up the tomatoes. But they're often packed in poor-quality tomato paste that has a metallic aftertaste. Use whole canned tomatoes instead.

If you're making sauce in a hurry and don't have time to cook down all that juice, just pour it off and save it. And instead of cutting up the tomatoes, just break them up with your hands as you add them to the sauce.

Canned tomatoes are often very good and always better than poor-quality fresh ones. While you're at it, avoid most plum tomatoes too. They are often used in cooking because they have more pulp and less juice and seeds, so they cook down faster than some of their juicier relatives. But plum tomatoes in general are quite tasteless, and Roma (the most common in North America) is one of the least flavourful.

With proper storage, the vibrant flavour of tomato can be enjoyed long after the growing season ends. Follow these methods and enjoy.

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