# Why would you put tomatoes in the freezer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539 "2003-08-07T06:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/1 "2003-08-07T06:43:18Z")
It’s 3 in the morning. I opened my freezer to get some ice and there were tomatoes in there. Can anybody tell me why in the blue hell one would put tomatoes in the freezer? For the record, I am not under the influence of any mind-altering substances. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/2 "2003-08-07T06:58:04Z")
I’ve done that once, but only because it was one of those newfangled fridges with the freezer compartment at the bottom. You’d think they’d at least label each compartment to avoid convusion… Sorry, that’s all I can contribute… ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/3 "2003-08-07T07:26:42Z")
Umm…'materpops? ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/4 "2003-08-07T07:35:29Z")
Perhaps to make them into tomato sauce or tomato jam (no, really, it is possible and quiet nice) sometime later? ---
**Author:** ![d1a1s1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@d1a1s1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d1a1s1)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/5 "2003-08-07T07:49:48Z")
So, SQUBE, you have people in your house secretly placing tomatoes in your freezer?! Maybe you should ask around your house to get to the bottom of this. If nobody knows you SHOULD be asking yourself “who has been sneaking into my house to place tomatoes in my freezer?” ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/6 "2003-08-07T08:22:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lyllyan \* > \*\*Umm…'materpops? \*\* LOL! I’ve never made 'materpops, what happens to the tomato after it’s been frozen? Something tells me it would thaw and have that mealy texture. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/7 "2003-08-07T09:37:00Z")
If you have a huge glut of tomatoes, they can be peeled and frozen, then used for cooking later - they won’t be any good for salads, but they come out a bit like canned tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/8 "2003-08-07T09:57:51Z")
Why would you put tomatoes in the freezer? To freeze them! I recently was visiting home, and noticed that my mother had bags of frozen tomatoes in the freezer. Her garden had produced a lot of tomatoes this year, and she had been too busy to can them this year. So she said freezing them was easier. They freeze quite well, and are easy to thaw and use in stews, sauces, hotdishes, etc. She even uses them in salads during the winter. They are a bit mushy, and don’t taste as good as fresh tomatoes. But they taste a whole lot better than those hard, tasteless things that the grocery store sells as tomatoes in mid-winter! ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/9 "2003-08-07T15:57:23Z")
Thank you… I was starting to fear for my mental welfare, especially since when I woke up and looked in the freezer they weren’t there anymore. It’s nice to know that I’m not crazy… yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/10 "2003-08-07T20:00:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Seven \* > \*\*LOL! > > I’ve never made 'materpops, what happens to the tomato after it’s been frozen? > > Something tells me it would thaw and have that mealy texture. \*\* I think so as well. To say nothing of squishy as they begin to thaw. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/11 "2003-08-07T22:45:38Z")
Someone was preparing for a really _mean_ political rally… ---
**Author:** ![nth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/12 "2003-08-07T23:09:34Z")
ouch! frozen tomatoes will hurt! ---
**Author:** ![finette6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@finette6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/finette6)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-put-tomatoes-in-the-freezer/193539/13 "2003-08-08T00:14:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by [t-bonham@scc.net](mailto:t-bonham@scc.net) \* > \*\*… They freeze quite well, and are easy to thaw and use in stews, sauces, _hotdishes_, etc. … > > B] yay for hotdishes! I’m a transplant from the little apple myself, and I’ve always loved that name. So much more expressive than “casseroles”