During the heap of the tomato season, when you've got more tomatoes than you can eat or give away, I keep a small crockpot on my kitchen counter at all times. In that small crockpot, I constantly keep stewing tomatoes. I found that if you always have the crock pot out and going, very few tomatoes go to waste. It forces you to look at your tomatoes every 2-3 days so you can catch those smashed or overly ripe tomatoes before they rot.
8-10 tomatoes can do the trick. They don't have to be Romas or San Marzanos. Any tomatoes will do. Cherry tomatoes work too. Whatever is about to go bad is best. Turn the crockpot on low and let them go for a day. If you want to make the foundation for tomato sauce, I add garlic (amount of garlic depends on the variety) and basil. If not, just the tomatoes will be perfect.
About halfway through the day, smash the tomatoes. They'll naturally burst, but this speeds up the process. At the end of the day, let them cool, throw them in a jar and freeze it. It's a great and easy way to spend a few minutes each day and ensure you'll have tomatoes all winter long.
I'm not big on canning, because then it feels like its an all-day production in which you need to do many cans to make it worth your while. Plus, the one jar every couple of days method semms to be a great purpose for smashed or about to rot tomatoes.
This is also a good back-up in case your winter tomatoes just don't produce.
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