First I washed the tomatoes. I squeezed out some of the juice and seeds, just what would come out easily. I then sliced them thickly. No need to skin.
The directions I found (you can read them here.) said to dry using a dehydrator, low oven, or hot car. Since I could borrow a dehydrator, I chose that method.
I layered the tomatoes as close as possible on the dehydrator trays. Next time I want to salt or season them, maybe with basil. In about 10 hours, most of the slices were dry. (I know the picture is terrible but you should be able to see that the slices have shrunk considerably. The goal is for them to be dried to the texture of a raisin- chewy, not crispy. The slices with holes dried best. The top and bottom of the tomato took almost twice as long. Next time I'll use that part of the tomato for another use.
The result was delicious! Because they can quickly reabsorb moisture and mold, I stored a few in a bag in the fridge to use immediately and the remainder I froze.
Next I'd like to try making my own vegetable powder. My idea is to dry tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onions and blend them into powder. It would be a quick way to add flavor to soup and other dishes. Has anyone tried it?
Thanks for sharing this Gina. I just bought a dhydrator off Craig's List for $20 and am just learning how to use it. So far, I've made strawberry fruit roll-ups and bananna chips. I'll blog about it later this month. I'll be drying some tomatoes using your instructions next. Love the idea of a vegitable powder!
ReplyDeleteI love sun(dehydrator) dried tomatoes. They are so good just out of the jar for a snack. Looking forward to trying some of your recipes, they sound delicious. God Bless.
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