Oven Dried Tomatoes

[NanyukiTom]

Has anyone tried drying tomatoes in their WFO as it is cooling down. I'm interested in making my own "sun" dried tomatoes and thought this might be a good place to start. So far the only suggestions that I have (from helpful bystanders) are to use plum tomatoes, to cut them in half length wise and to sprinkle them with a bit of salt and sugar prior to trying to dry them. There is heated debate about whether it is necessary to de-seed them and also about whether to dry them cut side up or cut side down.

Any suggestions or advice will be appreciated.

Tom T

[CajunKnight]

Salt and sugar are otional, and seeds are optional also.If seeds are removed the drying process will be shorter.
Place tomatoes skin side down on a wire rack over a drip pan inside oven and leave door cracked open at top to allow moisture to escape. You want your oven around 150 degrees F and allow to dry for 6 - 12 hours turning around once in a while to keep even drying.
Remove and let cool before packing and storing. Dried tomatoes should be leathery and pliable when cool.

[rlf5]

Are particular varieties better suited for drying?

[chuckster]

How 'bout some more comments on packing and storing? In what? Cool & dry? etc. Looks like I've got a pile of them coming on soon in the garden.
Thanks
Chuck

[rlf5]

I've always seen them stored in olive oil.

[egalecki]

I freeze mine in zip top bags and pull out how many I need as I need them. There's a really good recipe in Alton Brown's "I'm just here for the food" book.

[Alfredo]

Lots of useful links here: Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes Recipe Basics

The bulk food stores in town have bins of them, always dry (the ones that come packed in oil make a nice addition to an antipasto plate, but amost all recipes that use sun dried tomatoes specify not oil-packed). I store mine in a Mason jar, but "store" is an ephemeral concept: three or five make a fine snack, and they're soon gone.

All varieties of tomato may be dried, but the more flavor you start with, the more you wind up with

[CajunKnight]

They can be stored in olive oil, if properly dried they can be placed in zilock bags and kept in the cabinet. They can be kept in the fridge. If frozen they can be kept for up to a year. Thick meat varieties are best for drying to get better texture and more taste, But any variety can be dried.