You waged a profitable battle towards marauding pests. You warded off nasty ailments. You watered, pruned, fertilized, and propped these vines up.
Now it’s harvest time, and you’ve got tomatoes popping out of your ears.
Success!
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There’s only one little downside, in case you can name it that. There’s solely a lot chili sauce, pasta sauce, soup, and ketchup you can also make. Ultimately, you get uninterested in canning.
And let’s be sincere. What number of tomato-based sandwiches or salads are you able to eat?
Drying is a wonderful manner of preserving tomatoes in a manner that also leaves them versatile and flavorful. When dried slowly, the fruit retains its taste however lasts a lot, for much longer than a contemporary one.
A dried tomato has round 15 p.c of its unique weight, and reaching this may be carried out in a number of methods. You’ll be able to harness the ability of the solar, toss them in an oven, or, in case you’re fancy, use a dehydrator.
We’ll clarify all three strategies and find out how to retailer the ensuing meals. Right here’s what we’re going to cowl:
Dehydrate Tomatoes
Dehydrating extends the lifetime of meals like tomatoes by eradicating moisture, to disclaim microorganisms that want moisture the flexibility to breed and unfold.
It additionally creates a barrier on the outside that stops microorganisms from getting in.
I’ve buddies who swear they will’t inform the distinction between the varied strategies that we’ll go over right here once they’re carried out proper.
Personally, I feel the sun-drying methodology or utilizing a dehydrator retains extra of the flavour and creates a greater texture than utilizing the oven, as a result of you’ve extra management and the sluggish course of permits the meals to retain the parts higher.
It’s actually exhausting to control the feel of the slices within the oven. One minute they’re too moist, and the subsequent, they’re too dry.
But when an oven is all you’ve, then that’s what we’ll work with. And we’ll assist you grasp all three choices. Let’s begin with the prep work.
Put together Them
Any tomato will be dried, however Roma or paste varieties are inclined to work greatest. Something meaty with few seeds goes to rock. Juicy, seedy varieties take a bit extra time, however they’re nonetheless doable.
Smaller varieties, like cherry tomatoes, will be dried complete. Search for agency, ripe fruits, and don’t refrigerate them whereas they’re ready for his or her flip within the warmth.
Slice the fruits to hurry up the drying course of. There’s no rule about how skinny to slice them.
In case you like paper-thin wafers, go for it. Favor one thing a bit extra meaty? An inch-thick slice is completely cool. You’ll be able to even go for wedges or chunks in case you’re feeling prefer it.
It takes longer to dry thicker items, although, and also you may wish to use a dehydrator or oven to hurry issues up fairly than counting on the solar.
Whichever manner you go, make the items as uniform as doable. In the event that they’re uneven, the items received’t dry uniformly, and also you’ll have crispy items right here and under-dried items there.
Wash the skins properly and permit the fruits to dry earlier than slicing.
In case you don’t wish to maintain the pores and skin in your tomatoes, rating the pores and skin with out going any deeper by reducing a cross into the top reverse the stem, dip them in boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds, after which instantly submerge them in ice water.
Peel the pores and skin off.
When you’ve got bigger varieties with a thick core, lower the core out earlier than drying.
Solar-Drying
There’s one thing particular about sun-dried tomatoes.
The best way the method concentrates the sugars whereas retaining the tomato essence, all with that chewy, semi-soft texture. It’s heaven in a chew.
Really sun-dried tomatoes style totally different than these dried in a dehydrator or oven, they usually’re additionally silly costly. Most “sun-dried” merchandise in the marketplace aren’t really made the old style manner.
Solar drying takes time, and it may be difficult when you’ve got inconsistent climate.
It must be persistently heat, dry, and sunny, otherwise you’re higher off doing the job in a dehydrator or the oven. Don’t even attempt solar drying if it’s humid out.
You’ll additionally must cope with bugs. They need an opportunity at these fruits as a lot as you do.
You’ll be able to lay cheesecloth over the slices or place raised screens over the world to assist maintain pests away. In case you’re utilizing a desk, place the legs in buckets of water to stop crawling bugs from climbing up the legs.
Lay slices on a baking sheet or display and permit them to dry in direct daylight.
Or you may go the normal methodology and lay the slices out in your ceramic rooftop. You may wish to give it an excellent scrub earlier than you do.
It’s not obligatory, however chances are you’ll choose to do because the Aztecs did and sprinkle some salt on the items.
You too can switch the items to a shady spot after they really feel about two-thirds dry. This enhances the leathery texture, whereas leaving them within the solar to complete the method could cause them to crisp up.
This methodology can take a number of weeks, relying on the climate and the scale of your items.
The longer it takes, the upper the prospect of mildew forming, so flip the slices frequently and watch fastidiously for any indicators of mildew. Carry them in at evening.
Drying within the Oven
Drying within the oven is quicker and simpler to manage than solar drying. You’ll be able to doubtlessly go from slicing to eating in only a few hours.
Plus, you don’t have to fret about bugs and animals attempting to dine in your tomatoes.
Skinny slices could be carried out in just a few hours, however thicker or complete tomato may take days.
Lay the slices or chunks on a baking sheet, both lined with parchment or naked. You’ll be able to sprinkle salt onto the slices, but it surely’s completely non-obligatory.
I skip salt once I use this methodology, however I’m utilizing flavorful homegrown tomatoes. In case you’re utilizing bland store-bought tomatoes, salt will enhance the flavour.
Place them within the oven on the middle rack with the temperature on the lowest setting, which is able to typically be about 170 to 180°F. When you’ve got an air setting in your oven, use it.
Except your oven is the world’s most evenly heating equipment, you’ll have to flip the slices and rotate the sheet each couple of hours or so.
My oven heats so erratically that I’ve to alter racks often, too. The longer you dry the fruits, the extra you’ll have to flip and alter issues.
Interested by sizzling spots? You’ll be able to be taught extra about understanding your oven on our sister website, Foodal.
You may need higher luck turning the oven to about 200°F and cracking the door, fairly than counting on the bottom setting and your oven’s uneven heating proclivities.
This methodology has actually labored higher for me.
Except you graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and may lower the slices completely even, you’ll most likely have to tug out some items sooner than others as they attain the suitable consistency.
Drying in a Dehydrator
Drying within the dehydrator is slightly slower than the oven, but it surely retains extra of the flavour. It’s like a pleasant compromise between solar drying and oven drying.
Set the dehydrator to 135°F and place the slices or your complete fruit on the trays.
Sprinkle with salt if desired. It is going to take anyplace from 9 to 18 hours, relying in your mannequin and the thickness of the items.
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You’ll be able to depart the temperature on the identical stage all through the drying course of, however I discover you may obtain that completely mushy, however not too mushy, texture in case you flip the warmth down after eight or 9 hours. I often dry mine at about 100°F for the ultimate hours.
The place to Maintain Your Dried Tomatoes
Dehydrating is completed as soon as the items really feel dry however not crispy. It’s best to be capable to bend the items with out them breaking.
In the event that they really feel sticky or in the event that they don’t resist whenever you bend them, dry them a bit longer.
You’re aiming for a leathery texture.
There are many methods to retailer the items for future use. Essentially the most easy is to stay them in resealable jars or luggage, however that is additionally the choice with the shortest lifespan.
If you wish to vacuum seal them, they will final a for much longer time.
What’s that, you say? You don’t have a vacuum sealer at house? Foodal may help you to select the right one!
Saved in an hermetic container, they’ll final about six months. An hermetic bag is nice for as much as a 12 months.
You too can maintain the items within the fridge or freezer for as much as 18 months, however they’ll lose some taste.
For one thing slightly totally different, put them in a jar with olive oil.
Pack the dried tomatoes right into a jar, add any herbs or spices which are calling your identify, and canopy all the pieces with olive oil. Place this within the fridge and use it inside two months.
Be aware that garlic shouldn’t be added, as storage in oil poses a danger of botulism.
You too can grind the tomatoes into mud in a meals processor and retailer the powder in an hermetic jar in your spice rack.
Study extra strategies of storing homegrown tomatoes in our information.
Utilizing Dried Tomatoes
The tomatoes can be utilized dry or rehydrated by soaking them in water or oil. Or you need to use them as is.
I toss just a few chunks into pasta sauce as I’m cooking to allow them to rehydrate and add an additional bop (not an actual culinary time period) of texture and taste.
They’re fabulous on pizza or pasta. Add them to salads or sandwiches or chop them into dips. They can be utilized to make pesto, salsa, and soups.
In case your mouth isn’t watering already, try the fabulous flavor-packed Mediterranean steaks with spinach, feta, and sun-dried tomato pasta at our sister website, Foodal.
Savor These Flavors
An ample harvest is one thing to rejoice. And the easiest way to do this, in fact, is with a giant previous feast!
Invite everybody over for heaps of pizza, pasta, and dip. Whichever methodology you employ, these fruits are going to be unbelievable.
What do you propose to do along with your treats? Do you’ve a killer recipe you’d wish to share? Give us the good things within the feedback!
Although I’m positive you had piles of tomatoes to reap this 12 months, if you wish to develop even greater, more healthy crops, these guides could be helpful:
