The best way to store leftover canned tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

The best way to store leftover canned tomatoes? ›

If you don't use the whole tin of tomatoes or bottle of passata, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. Avoid keeping leftovers in the metal tin as the acidic tomatoes can react with the metal.

After opening canned goods, store the food in the refrigerator. High-acid canned goods such as tomato products, juice, fruit, pickles, sauerkraut and foods in vinegar-based sauces can be stored five to seven days.

I poured this into two zip-top freezer bags, squeezed out as much air as possible, sealed the bags, and laid them in the freezer as flat as I could. (You could also do this with three or more bags, depending on what you might have planned for the sauce.)

To store canned food wisely, follow these guidelines

Store in a cool, clean, dry place where temperatures are below 85 F (between 50-70 F is good) but not freezing temperatures. Rotate foods so the oldest is used first. Try not to keep canned foods more than 1 year.

For acidic foods such as canned tomatoes, metal leaching out from the lining of the can is a possibility, says Carl Batt, a professor of food microbiology at Cornell University.

Information. Yes. Unused portions of canned food may be refrigerated in the can, but to preserve optimum quality and flavor, place the unused portion in a food-grade glass or plastic container. Use within 4 days.

Store large tomato halves cut-side down on a paper towel inside a storage container and use within two days. The tomato will taste best if you can remove it from the fridge even 30 minutes before eating to bring it back to room temperature. Diced tomatoes should also be stored in a storage container in the fridge.

If you are using tomato sauce from a can rather than a jar or bottle, remove it from its original packaging (don't just cover the can and put it back in the fridge). "While it is safe to store the food in the can, it will retain better flavor if transferred to a glass or plastic storage container," says Fiest.

Frozen tomatoes will retain their flavor for 12 months. This gives you plenty of time to thaw them to use in your favorite sauce, stew, or soup recipes.

Can you freeze tomatoes in plastic containers? ›

Pack your peeled tomatoes into a mason jar or plastic container, making sure they are tightly packed, but leaving a gap of at least an inch at the top to allow for expansion. As with freezing whole, peeled tomatoes will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Gently rub tomatoes under cold running water and then dry with a paper towel or a clean cloth. After washing, cut away the stem scar and surrounding area and discard it. Dip tomatoes in boiling water for about 1 minute or until the skins split to peel easier. Place the whole tomatoes on clean cookie sheets and freeze.

If you don't use the whole tin of tomatoes or bottle of passata, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week.

Guidelines for Storing Canned Tomato Products

Red Gold recommends that you store opened canned tomato products and juices in a sealed plastic or glass container for no more than 7 days in the refrigerator.

Refrigerate any leftover canned tomatoes by transferring them from the can into air-tight plastic or glass containers. Tomato based products, fruits and juices should be used within five to seven days.

Can linings might discolor or corrode when metal reacts with high-acid foods such as tomatoes or pineapple. As long as the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat, although the taste, texture and nutritional value of the food can diminish over time. Home canned foods should be used within 1 year.

Freezing tomatoes is the easiest way to keep ripe tomatoes until you're ready to use them. You don't have to peel them first—in fact, the act of freezing them itself makes the tomatoes insanely easy to peel! —and you can freeze as many or as few at a time as you like.

An oft-repeated reason to avoid sticking an open can in the fridge is that chemicals from the metal can and packaging could seep into the food and contaminate it with Bisphenol-A (BPA). This synthetic compound has hormone-like properties, which can build up in humans and potentially affect metabolism and disease rates.