Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Drying Tomatoes in the Dehydrator

Every year I get a large surplus of tomatoes and a lot ripen around the same time. Often I can them, but this year I still have many jars of canned tomatoes, chili, tomato mince meat, etc. Another way to store excess tomatoes is to dry them. This reduces the volume greatly and the result can be stored in the freezer taking up much less space than undried tomatoes would. I might even be able to store them in the pantry, but since there are no preservatives, I prefer to play it safe and freeze them. Once dried, they keep for a very long time. When I want to use them, I try to remember to put a bag of them in the refrigerator ahead of time to thaw. They're really good in salads, in stews, or straight out of the bag.

Here's my last crop of tomatoes from the garden.


Here they are cut up and put in the dehydrator. It takes at least 10 hours, to dry them.


And here they are, ready for the freezer, or to eat like chips. The cherry tomatoes are incredibly sweet.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

We eat a lot of sun dried tomatoes here, I can only imagine how good home made ones are!! ohh mega yum!! :)

Krystal said...

asparagus Tomato pasta salad rocks! Try this
cook up a bag of sprial, bowtie or whatever's in teh pantry pasta
steam a bunch of asparagus
slice up several large sun ripe tomatoes
put in a big plastic dish with a tight lid. Pour in about 1 cup of your favorite Italian dressing ( i like Bearnstein's Restaurant Italian) Shake vigourously and enjoy. Good cold too.

Sayo said...

oooh, those look good!

Christina Silverio said...

Oh, yummmm! I didn't get a good crop of tomatoes this year, but my peaches were so plentiful that I made jam with them. Maybe I'll have to get a dehydrator, too!

Glitzy Gallery Gal said...

I wish our tomatoes looked like that! I live in FL and can't get a decent one even at the farmer's market!

I live in a condo, so no growing them either. Bummer.

I am drooling now.

Waterrose said...

I didn't know you could dry tomatoes! Wish they tasted better here in Arizona and I would dry them. These would be like eating paper.

Quilts and Heirlooms Team said...

I so admire your garden Cheryl. You have great tomatoes, squash, grapes amongst other goodies.

I'm planning one next year. Hopefully I will have great success, and great photos to show.

Bubbles said...

Thats definately a good idea, I am still looking for my house but I hope to have a garden big enough to grow some vegetables and fruits.

Tashai said...

I love tomatoes from the dehydrator! We didn't get to plant any this year. Your post made me realize how much I'll miss them this winter!