Home»Food & Ferment»Preserve Your Harvest

Last update on September 21 , 2023

Do you have a garden full of tomatoes that need to be preserved ? Were you gifted some from friend or family ? Or , perhaps you merely want to take full reward of tomato plant season – and snag some local Lycopersicon esculentum from the James Leonard Farmer market while they ’re at their prime to pull through for later on ? Then spend a penny sun - dried tomato is a perfect root !

Article image

interpret along to see how simple it is to make your own herbaceous plant Dominicus - dry tomato using a dehydrator or oven , in five easy steps ! The resulting dried tomato plant are packed withintense tang of summertime , which you’re able to literally bottle to enjoy now – or well into winter ! That is , if you could jib eating them all right forth … They do taste a lot like pizza , after all . We love to utilise these chewy , savory herbaceous plant sun - dry tomato plant in many meals , especially in homemade sourdough breadstuff , frittata , or pesto zoodles ! So . Much . Yum .

One of the best thing about this recipe is how much itcondensesyour tomato plant , both in size and flavor ! If you have never exsiccate love apple before , you may be surprised by how much they shrink . Several pounds of tomatoes can suddenly fit in one humble glass jounce ! But do n’t get this let down you . While the size decreases , that wonderful tomato plant flavor exponentially increases!And I do n’t cognize about you , but any method acting of conserve a garden harvest that takes up as niggling space as possible is a winner in my Word !

So where does the actual Sun come into play – if they’re “sun-dried” – you ask?

Okay , you ’re right … these are n’t truly sun - dried . But it is all good ! Did you know that the absolute majority of the “ sun - dry out ” tomatoes you’re able to buy in store are actually dried in commercial-grade dehydrators , not under the sun ? dry out tomatoes in the sun is fairly challenging for most people to do , since it requires really specific conditions ( very red-hot and waterless ) to be successful .

Here , with our cool , foggy , misty summers , drying Lycopersicon esculentum in the Sunday simply is n’t an option . They wouldmoldin a heartbeat . Even if you have a blistering clime than we do , any humidity or summer rain would defeat the sunshine - drying process . So countenance ’s cut up it , shall we ?

Would you like to save this?

We ’ll e-mail this billet to you , so you could come back to it afterward !

I agree to receive e-mail update .

SUPPLIES NEEDED

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1) Prepare the Tomatoes

Rinse your tomato plant , then go to slue them into smaller portions . If you have cherry red or grape tomatoes , cut them in one-half . That can then serve as your target thickness for the following pieces . As the size of your tomatoes increase , thin out them smaller as needed , such as into quarters , sixth , or even into eight pieces . Cut away and compost the tough stem portion . If there are big glob of sand and seeds that naturally detach , leave them apart to compost too .

The goal is to haverelatively reproducible piecesto promote even dry out As opposed to cutting them down their equator , taste to cut the tomato in a way that leave a part of skin on each part , like you may veer orchard apple tree slices .

As you go , add the cut tomatoes into a orotund admixture pipe bowl . If possible , weigh your tomatoes ( minus the bowl ) so you know about how much you ’re working with . This will add up in ready to hand when we tally the herb . If you do n’t have akitchen scale , no biggie . It is okay to eye it too .

An image of two bowls of tomatoes, one is a white ceramic bowl with copper lining along the rim with handles and the other is a wooden bowl, they are set diagonally from each other on a barn wood table. The white bowl is full of orange cherry tomatoes and various types of smaller deep red tomatoes. The brown bowl has larger tomatoes in it, some more oblong in shape and some more round. The colors range from deep red to pink. Surrounding the bowls are various sprigs of fresh herbs, ranging from green and purple sage, thyme, and oregano. It is the ingredients for sun dried tomatoes.

Step 2) Gently Toss with Herbs

Wash your fresh herbs , and bump off any woody halt . Allow them to drip dry in a strainer , or gently pat dry . Next , finely hack or soften the herbs . Our choice mixed bag is oregano , thyme , and sage , but Basil of Caesarea would be an excellent addition as well ! We like to summate about1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped herbs for every 2 pounds of tomatoes . Again , this does n’t need to be exact . sense destitute to scale up or down to your liking . I just wanted to give you a ballpark !

Now we are go to sum up the herbs to the Lycopersicon esculentum . However , I do n’t care to simply dump them in all at once ! When we toss and mix the tomatoes and herbaceous plant , it is undecomposed tominimize the amount of mixingthat needs to be done , to avoid smashing the love apple to smithereens . Therefore , to promote even distribution of the herb and reduce mixing , I suggest sprinkling one-half of your herbs over the tomato first . Gently toss away them – I do so with clean custody . Now add the eternal rest of the herbs and give the tomatoes one more light premix .

This process accomplishes two thing . Obviously , it gets our herb and tomato combined . Additionally , the blue mixing help to dislodge excess liquid , light guts , and seed into your pipe bowl – which help in the dehydrating cognitive process !

A four way image collage, the first image is a wood bowl full of the various types of tomatoes cut into similar sized pieces. Some are halves some are quarter or eighths cuts depending on the size of the tomato. The second image is similar to the first, yet this time the tomatoes are now lightly mixed with the chopped herbs. The third image shows the bowl of cut tomatoes and herbs together for sun dried tomatoes, the image was taken a little further away from the bowl compared to the previous two images, showing a barn wood type backdrop. The fourth image shows the empty bowl after all of the tomatoes have been taken out to be placed on drying racks. Tomato juice and some seeds and guts of the tomatoes are all that remains. This illustrates that leaving behind some of the excess can aid in the drying process for sun dried tomatoes.

Step 3) Dehydrate

It is time to get the tomatoes laid out onto tray to dry out . If you are using a nutrient dehydrator , you could either put the herbaceous plant tomato small-arm straight off on your slotted tray , or use tray liners if you have them for your machine . We usethese silicone tray liners , just to reduce the stack in the dehydrator . The tomatoes can get a bit gummy , and some of the herbs may get frisky and wander !

set the tomato piecesskin - downon the tray if possible . To make the most efficient use of distance , feel free to squeeze the tomatoes quite close down together , butnot touching or overlapping . If you are drying your Lycopersicon esculentum in the oven , follow the same process – but on baking sheets lined with parchment newspaper publisher instead .

Drying sun-dried tomatoes in a food dehydrator:

dilute up your dehydrator , and deform it on to125 to 130 ° fluorine . The time it takes to dry will variegate depending on the dehydrator you habituate , the moisture content of your tomato , and the size of your cuts . This particular slew take around 18 - 20 time of day to dry , but you may observe yours dry out more apace ! I have a hypothesis that while handy , using tray liner may increase our dry time , since there is a slight reduction in airflow .

Drying sun-dried tomatoes in the oven:

I have to let in , because we ’ve had a dehydrator in the mansion for as long as we ’ve been into homesteading and horticulture , we have never dried our tomatoes in the oven . Yet I did a niggling inquiry so I could still provide you some tips on how !

employ a low temperature setting , such as200 to 225 ° degree Fahrenheit . On this heat , family line say that they should theoretically be “ done ” in about4 to 5 hours(see notes about measure doneness below ) . If your tomato are large and spicy , I also see to it a passport to carefully squish the tomato with a spatula about halfway through baking , to expel spare juice and promote further drying .   Also , flipping them over midway through may help oneself .

Step 4) Assess Doneness

As with all dehydrated foods , the more moisture that is removed from the sun - dried Lycopersicon esculentum , the better and longer they ’ll last in warehousing . Therefore , we prefer our finished sun - dried tomatoes to be fairly dry . On the other helping hand , we do n’t want them totally dried to a crisp , like ail or onions that we think to bray into pulverisation ! We regard our tomatoes “ done ” and ready for repositing when they’reno longer smashed or spongelike , yet are still chewy and slightly flexible .

After about 12 hour of dry out , I set out assessing the tomato plant on their advance . This year , I institute that the cherry Lycopersicon esculentum ( still full of seeds and catgut ) consider longer to dry than the expectant slit tomatoes . In that case , I will often pull the finished one and leave the wet one to uphold to dry out .

If your tomatoes terminate up a little more crispy than you were expect , do not fret ! calculate on how you use them , sunlight - dried tomatoes do an excellent job at reabsorbing moisture and plumping back up later . For instance , if you add them to sauce , lucre dough , quiche , sauteed veg , or other meals that have some wet to spare . That is another intellect we drift on the drying agent side for ours .

A two way image collage, the first image shows two drying racks lined with tray liners full of the cut tomatoes. They are sitting on a barn wood surface. The second image shows three drying racks placed in an Excalibur dehydrator full of the cut tomatoes positioned in a stair step manner to show off the soon to be dried tomatoes.

Step 5) Store

Once the tomatoes have dried to the desired horizontal surface , transplant them into a container for entrepot . It is good to store sunlight - dry Lycopersicon esculentum in anair - tight container , such as a James Neville Mason jolt with a stringent - fitting lid . For enhanced freshness , consider using a drinking glass container with a insolent - top hat that clamp to varnish . We love and usethese stainless steel mason jar lidsthat have an internal silicone polymer gasket , which allow for a much better sealing wax than a traditional James Mason jolt lid .

Next , adjudicate where you want to keep that jarful or container . Most often , we store our sunshine - dried tomatoes in the pantry storage locker at elbow room temperature . They have held up forover 6 months(until we ran out!)and we have never experienced any issues with mould or spoilage ! However , if you want to play it redundant - safe and prolong their shelf life , you could also choose to stack away them in thefridge . I specially suggest this if your finished tomato are more on the wet side . Even more , you could freeze them ! To create extra luscious and plump sun - dried tomatoes , pour olive crude oil over them – but keep that in the refrigerator too .

Step 6) Enjoy!

Well , that was childlike , was n’t it?Now you have your very own homemade sun - dried tomato to enjoy for month to come . These babies will make for a bright punch of mouth-watering look and a welcome chewy ( dare I say … “ meaty ” ? ) burn to just about any repast .

Try add up your sun - dried tomato to pasta ( or zoodles ! ) , frittata , quiche , quesadilla , sandwiches , scrambled egg or omelettes , with sautéed vegetables , on top of pizza pie , or tucked inside your sourdough bread . To do that last one , simply followour basic sourdough loaf of bread recipe , and contribute a handful of Lord’s Day - dry out tomatoes during the first or 2nd “ stretch and fold ” . gold rush . These tomatoes are also killer in a assortment of salad , including on top of green salads or in other cold salads – like quinoa , Elmer Rice , pasta , or potato salad . The option are unlimited !

So,how do YOU like to eat your sun-dried tomatoes?

Making sun - dried love apple is only one fantabulous way to preserve your harvest . Another pet summer tomato plant formula of ours is thisSimple & Delicious Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe – which you could easily stop dead or can !

If you need a few enceinte recipe to use these with , or are front for other tutorials for dehydrate your harvests , checker out these article :

Herb Sun-Dried Tomatoes, using a dehydrator or oven

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

A two way image collage, the first image shows a close up of the sun dried tomatoes on a drying rack after they have finished drying. Their size has decreased and they are somewhat shriveled. The second image shows a close up of one of the sun dried tomato pieces someone is holding it on their index and middle finger, the background shows the other dried tomatoes still on the drying rack.

A close up image of a white ceramic bowl full of herb sun dried tomatoes, it is sitting on a round granite tray with handles, they are a few pieced of sun dried tomatoes scattered about and a luscious sprig of green sage.

A hand holds a quart mason jar full of sun dried tomatoes in front of a barn wood backdrop.

Article image

A hand holding a loaf of bread cut in half. The sourdough loaf has had yellow and red sun dried tomatoes added to it and they are baked into and throughout the loaf of bread. An alocasia or “Elephant Ear” is the backdrop, its huge leaves taking up most of the space.

Article image

DeannaCat signature, keep on growing