I have a huge abundance of cherry tomatoes. Any suggestions on ways to preserve them? I have other tomatoes I will be canning this week, and we can't eat all the cherry tomatoes one plant is giving us and I hate to feed them to my chickens!

Well, years ago, my sons 5th grade teacher had the same problem. She took them to school in a daily bucket. Clay learned to like fresh tomatoes that year. 5th Grade boys are hungry;-)

I had a cherry tomato one year that was nearly like a nightmare...it just kept growing and reproducing...I was glad of the frost that year!

That's funny - too bad I don't work at a school! I think I've decided to try to dry them, but am hoping someone can give me help on doing it in an oven because I don't have a dehydrator.

I make juice and spaghetti sauce out of them. Just put in a pan whole, smash up a bit and cook them down. Then through the sieve to remove skin and seeds. Very easy.

Or you can put them in the blender, skins and all, with some onion and green pepper. Freeze for chili base.

I had so many cherry tomatoes last year that the first thing peaple said upon entering my home was DON'T GIVE ME ANY MORE CHERRY TOMATEOS!

My mother in law showed me how to make tomato jam very simply.

Just blanch the tomatoes. This makes them very easy to peel. Rather like a beet. Just apply pressure and the flech pops out and you're left with the peel in your hand.

Then measure the amount of flesh you get and put it in a cooking pot. Then add sugar. The amount can vary according to taste but you need a certain amount to make sure to preserve the tomatoes. You can use the same amount as tomatoes or cut up to by half but no less.
For example if you have 1 cup of tomatoes you can put 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of sugar.
Then cook on low heat, stir often, util you obtain the consistency you want. About 1 hour did it for me. I used a medium sized pot. The longer you cook, the thicker the jam.

My in-laws love this jam on toast that they dunk in cream.

This year, I planted less cherry tomatoes but I still have too many. Man do those plants ever produce! Of course, I (and most of my friends) sill have plenty of jam (LOL) so I was looking for other ideas. I treid the following just last week.

I washed the cherry toms and removed the stems but that's all. Left the heart and peel intact.
Then I simply put them in a 1 litre sterilized jar. I made a brine (1/4 cup coarse salt to 4 cups water, heated just enough to melt salt, then let cool) and covered the tomatoes up to 1 1/4 inch from the top of the jar. Then I covered the 1 1/4 inch left with olive oil making sure all tomatoes were covered. That's it! No cooking!

As I mentioned, this is a new recipe so I'll know in a month or two how well it works for preserving. It just sounded so easy compared to traditional canning that I just had to try it.

That's me. Always looking for the short cut that will get me to the same place but with less effort!

Good luck with your cherry tomatoes!

Frenchie

My cherry tomato abundance was 2 years ago if I remember correctly. We made tomato soup from a recipe in a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. DH said he liked it way better than the store bought. We didn't have quite enough to can though.

Cymraes - According to "The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest" - for Oven Drying "place food directly on oven racks or cover the racks with clean, 100% cotton sheeting or cheesecloth. Preheat your oven to 145F. Using an oven thermometer, check the temperature periodically. Ovens vary, so you may need to experiment witha setting between 120F and 145F. Use a wooden spoon to prop the door opent to let the moisture escape. Be sure not to fill your oven too full, or the drying time will become quite long. Allow 4 - 12 hrs, depending on the items and quantities." (Just make sure the cotton or towel doesn't come in contact with your heating source.) "For Italian Tomatoes, slice in half lengthwise and remove seeds then dry 6-8 hrs until they are pliable & leathery." I would guess that cherry tomatoes would be similar but maybe take less time since they are typically thinner-walled than Italian tomatoes.

I personally haven't dried tomatoes either in the oven or a dehydrator so this is just a quote from a book... Good Luck!

Oups! Forgot an important detail about those recepies (jam and raw canning).

The jars must be kept in a fridge or cold room. They aren't properly 'canned' so are not to be kept at room temperature.

I love the idea of drying tomatoes. but like you Tammy, I've never tried. Anyone with experience out there have any pointers to share?

Frenchie

Have had many different years with a cherry tomato abundance. Have never tried drying them, but did use them to make sauce, etc.

What I do differently is run them (skins and seeds included) in a good blender. Wanted the vitamins from the skins, etc.

If I'm in a hurry (like last week) for a quick lunch, I take a bunch of the cherry tomatoes, one VERY large clove of fresh hardneck garlic, and whatever fresh onions I have on hand (onion, scallion, chives, etc.) and process it. Heated up with some butter, then creme fraishce added to make it creamy - it's wonderful. (Have also been known to add cooked kale or spinach.)