If you folks haven't made frozen tomato gazpacho yet, you should really try it. Random red tomatoes will make an ordinary gazpacho, but try pink or black or orange sweet ones and wow - so sweet and cold and fantastic with no cooking. If I lived in the south and those hot summers, I think I'd be freezing tomatoes just to treat myself on a hot day,
Last year I had an indoor cuke plant and made 1/2 cuke, 1/2 tomato gazpacho. No cukes this year so it's all tomato. I just put a tablespoon of olive oil and some grated garlic into the blender, chop the frozen tomatoes skin and all about 3/4 full, a dasth of red wine vinegar or lemon, and blend until the slushie is made. "Liquid summer".
Not all tomatoes lose their texture severely by freezing. The worst are fleshy tomatoes like pastes and hearts, best made into sauce. But lots of beefs and small tomatoes can be used straight from the freezer if chopped fine into a 'frozen pico' - with frozen peppers too and some fresh green onion of course.. cilantro, parsely or rosemary as available from the windowsill. It's not the same as fresh but still a great way to enjoy them in winter and so much better than anything bought. The sloppy juice at the bottom is a great drink, whether you strain it before or after serving.
I also made aspic from fresh-frozen tomato and pepper salsa by heating a little juice with the envelope of gelatin, then stir into the half frozen mush - sets quick in a couple hours. Yep, aspic! A retro food.
You can slice it.
I also use frozen peppers and tomatoes sliced thin as toppings for pizza all winter. You can't tell them from fresh after baking. Peppers are best sliced up as soon as they come out of the deep freeze, tomatoes you have to wait just long enough for them to slice instead of crumbling.
I freeze lots of tomatoes whole, because at the peak season there's no time to be standing over a hot stove.
