Freezing pea-sized tomatoes

[Shule]

So, for years, I've been freezing wonderberries. They work great that way because they don't stick together too much and if they do, they're easily broken apart, so I can just take out some and put them on a pizza. This isn't something I've been able to do with tomatoes. However, I've never both grown and frozen pea-sized tomatoes like Post Office Spoonful and Solanum Spontaneum Orange are said to be. So, here are my questions:

1. Are they really pea-sized, or are they bigger than peas?

2. If you freeze them as-is in a gallon bag of them, do they stick together like a giant block of ice, or are they usable without thawing the whole bag out?

3. How juicy are these pea-sized tomatoes?

4. Do you know any other pea-sized tomatoes?

When I say as-is, I mean without blanching or doing any other special process prior to freezing (beyond washing them).

[greenthumbomaha]

I can't remember what I pea size variety I grew a few years ago, but the skin was very tough. Full of flavor, but tough. I'm not sure I would appreciate a tough skin in every bite. I hope someone chimes in with a varietal suggestion as I like this idea fr my pizza too!

- Lisa

[bower]

I can't speak to the pea size, but since larger tomatoes don't stick together, I wouldn't expect small ones to stick either.
As to using them whole, if it works for you with wonderberries, maybe tomato skin wouldn't bother you either.

I do find that freezing makes tomato skins tough.
For pizza I like to make very thin slices of frozen tomatoes to put on top. Small to medium sized tomatoes only need a few minutes to be easy to slice thin with a good knife.

[MissS]

While I myself have not grown Spoon or another pea-sized tomato, I have been given a handful of pea-sized fruits from someone that has. I don't recall the variety but it was not Spoon. They tasted very good and the skins were not tough. I shouldn't think that they would stick together when you freeze them unless you put them in the freezer while they were wet.

[KinaTo]

Spoon was pea size for sure, and it grew out 2 million of the little “badword”

They would freeze fine I think. If they get squeezed they would probably be a chunk of ice.

[oldwelder]

We cann and freeze allot during season, what we do when putting up stuff in the freezer is to flash freeze them, lay them out on cookie sheets and put them in the freezer for about a hour, before you put them in the freezer bags, we have found this works good on fruits and vegetables.

[AKgardener]

If you like spoon size tomatoes or ones that are just a little bit bigger that don’t get to out of control try mini cherry from forgotten helooms . I grew them indoors this winter and I was really impressed with the amount I got and how good they were I will always grow these indoors and out.. worth a shot They grow outmore than tall like any current plant but there not as big .. worth a shot and boy do they keep going

[Shule]

I can't speak to the pea size, but since larger tomatoes don't stick together, I wouldn't expect small ones to stick either.
As to using them whole, if it works for you with wonderberries, maybe tomato skin wouldn't bother you either.

I do find that freezing makes tomato skins tough.
For pizza I like to make very thin slices of frozen tomatoes to put on top. Small to medium sized tomatoes only need a few minutes to be easy to slice thin with a good knife.

What varieties did you freeze?

[Shule]

@KinaTo
Thanks for the information about Spoon's size! That's very helpful.

[bower]

I can't speak to the pea size, but since larger tomatoes don't stick together, I wouldn't expect small ones to stick either.
As to using them whole, if it works for you with wonderberries, maybe tomato skin wouldn't bother you either.

I do find that freezing makes tomato skins tough.
For pizza I like to make very thin slices of frozen tomatoes to put on top. Small to medium sized tomatoes only need a few minutes to be easy to slice thin with a good knife.

What varieties did you freeze?

I've frozen every kind I've grown, pretty well.
There are a few that don't freeze well - paste types, sometimes hearts take on a texture that's no good after freezing.
Beefs, saladettes, cherries - mostly meaty types, have been just fine to slice out of the freezer. I give them a quick rinse and let them sit on the cutting board for a few minutes, that's enough for smaller ones to be sliceable. If not just thawed enough, a big tomato can shatter while frozen instead of getting a clean cut. Give it another quick rinse, a few extra minutes. I use a finely serrated knife to cut them.

[WindyWI1968]

I freeze the currant tomatoes all the time and some have a punch of flavor you would not expect from a tomato. There are many current tomatos. Cades cove, spoon tomato. Post office tomato, white currant (very sweet), yellow currants and orange currents. I have not yet seen an antho currant but it may be out there. The skin is not thick on the ones I tried and yes they are pea sized and sometimes a hair bigger but not much. Freeze them on cookie sheets after they dry. Then when you bag them they will pretty much stay seperate with occasional effort to smash the bag on the counter. I put mixed colors together and it looks beautiful on a pizza, salad, in a soupp etc. I never made a sauce out of them. Picking is intensive and sometimes I use something similar to a blue berry picker that has a container below and they do like to fall out of my hands. They might not fall out of your hads but I have decreased sensation. Good luck. Kids and chickens love them for snacks. I grow a bunch to feed everyine snacks. Happy planting