San Marzano tomatoes

[kayb]

I bought a can of San Marzano tomatos today at my local gourmet shop, as I plan to make Marcella Hazen' tomato butter sauce this weekend to go over homemade ricotta gnocchi.

It's a 3-kilo can. Which looks an awful lot like a gallon of tomatos, or a little more than half what I need to make the sauce. I bought it because it was cheap -- $7 and change for the can, vs. doggoned near that much for 16-ounce jars -- and they didn't have any other selections. What's the best way to preserve these babies that I don't use, after the can is opened? Can one freeze, vacuum packed, the remainder? How long will it keep in Gladware in the fridge?

If I can find a reasonable method of storing them for, say, as much as two weeks, ideally a month, I'll go back and get the other three or four 3-kilo cans they had at that price, which sounded quite reasonable to me. (I just looked, and they do NOT specify DOP. They also indicate they are "con basilico," which I didn't notice when I bought them. Will this compromise Marcella's sauce?)

(Edited to closed parentheses.)

[KatieLoeb]

I think the basil will only make it more delicious.

I think vacuum sealing in bags would be best bet. I've frozen already cooked sauce before to no ill effect. I can't imagine freezing the tomatoes would hurt them if they don't get freezer burned. The less air the better I'd think.

Edited October 14, 2011 by KatieLoeb (log)

[heidih]

As noted I would get them into a well sealed freezer bag or container as soon as possible. My experience has been that fridge storage for that long results in quality loss and then deterioration to the point of having to toss. Sounds like a good price.

[qrn]

vac pac and freeze, I do it with fresh from the garden,every year...

Bud

[janeer]

always vac and freeze. Can keep a day or two in fridge, but they tend to get forgotten, so best to go straight into the freezer