California Farm Annual Tomato Harvest

Before the first night frost comes in November, time to process all the garden tomatoes, ripe or not. A pound of tomatoes make a pint of puree. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per pint keeps botulism out. The green tomatoes take longer to peel, then are cored, roasted, pureed and simmered. The red hard ones and red ripe soft ones are peeled, cored, pureed, then roasted and simmered. The over ripe ones are washed, quartered and sundried and stored in olive oil. We expect the next tomato harvest in June, 32 weeks from now, so I freeze 64 pints of puree, the basis for tomato soup, tomato sauces, tomato paste, salsa verde, and ketchup. They take little space in the freezer when stored in quart bags laid flat and frozen.