Recipe: How to Make Sundried Tomatoes - Oven, Sun or Dehydrator

I pulled together some great rec.food posts on the subject that I hope you'll find useful. Makes me wish I had a bushel of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes handy!!

Happy Drying,

Betsy
TKL

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Title: Oven Dried Tomatoes
Categories: Disney, Vegetables
Yield: 3 cups

3 lb Italian plum tomatoes
1 c Olive oil
1/2 c Basil,fresh; chopped
1 c Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Slice toamtoes into 3/8 inch slices. Toss tomatoes in
a bowl with oilive oil, basil and cheese. Place a
baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange tomatoes in a
sigle layer on rack. BAke tomatoes for 2 to 3 hours.
Remove rack from oven and cool tomatoes for 1 hour.
Store in an air tight container.
Use in recipe for Coral Reef Linguine.

Source: Coral Reef Restaurant, The Living Seas, EPCOT
Center Cooking With Mickey II

Formatted: 12-19-94, lfc

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Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
From: creation@panix.com (Todd Matthews)
Subject: Sundried tomatoes
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 1994

I once requested this and someone was kind enough to pass it on to me...
now I can pass it on to you.

Enjoy!

Recently there was a discussion of sun-dried tomatoes, which included a
general idea, but not specific directions, for preparing them. For the
benefit of those klutzes (like me) who must have the steps of the
procedure spelled out for them, I offer the following algorithm (which I
excerpted from a newspaper's food section). I include a recipe for using
them, which the article's author (whose name I did not save,
unfortunately) raved about.

Note that there is a lot of shrinkage in this process. Someone recently
posted that it takes 15-20 pounds of tomatoes to make 1 pound of dried
tomatoes. This is part of the reason they are so expensive.

The best tomato to use in this process is the Roma tomato (also known as a plum, pear, or Italian tomato), because it contains less water and seeds than other varieties. Howev cut in half if small, quarters omato, even cherry tomatoes. They will just take a little longer to dry and yield a little less product.

Dried Tomatoes (yields about 1 pint)

Wash carefully and wipe dry:
7 or 8 pounds of firm, ripe (preferably Roma) tomatoes.

Cut out the stem, and if the tomato has a scar (discolored area of tough
skin), remove it and the hardened core lying under it.

Cut the tomatoes in half, lengthwise. If the tomato is more than about 2
inches long, cut it in quarters.

Scrape out all of the seeds that you can without removing the pulp.

Arrange the tomatoes, with the cut surface up, on non-stick cookie sheets
(glass or porcelain dishes are OK. They will have to withstand
temperatures of a few hundred degrees F if you are going to oven-dry the
tomatoes). Do *not* use aluminum foil, or bare aluminum cookie sheets. The
acid in the tomatoes will react with the metal.

Mix together thoroughly:
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp salt.
Sprinkle a small amount of this mixture on each tomato. (You may customize
this mixture to suit your own taste.)

Dry the tomatoes in the oven, dehydrator, or in the sun. Directions follow
for each of these methods. However, no matter what method you choose, be
aware that not all of the tomatoes will dry at the same rate. They do not
all have the same amount of moisture, nor do they experience the same
temperature and air circulation while they are drying.

They are done when they are very dry, but still pliable - about the
texture of a dried apricot. If dried too long, they become tough and
leathery. If not dried long enough, they will mold and mildew, unless
packed in oil. So watch them carefully while they dry. Try to remove them
on an individual basis, before they become tough.

Here are the drying methods. There is a time listed with each method. This
time is approximate, and can vary significantly depending on the moisture
of the tomato. Do not rely on this time as more than a very rough guide.

Oven-drying (approximately 12 hours):

Bake, cut side up, in 170 F oven for about 3 hours. Leave the oven door
propped open about 3 inches to allow moisture to escape. After 3 hours,
turn the tomatoes over and press flat with your hand or a spatula.
Continue to dry, turning the tomatoes every few hours, and gently pressing
flatter and flatter, until tomatoes are dry.

Dehydrator method (approximately 8 hours):

Place the tomatoes, cut side up, directly onto the dehydrator trays. Set
dehydrator temperature to about 140 F. After 4 or 5 hours, turn the
tomatoes over and press flat with your hand or a spatula. After a few
hours, turn the tomatoes again and flatten gently. Continue drying until
done.

Sun-drying (approximately 3 days):

Dry in hot weather, with relatively low humidity.

Place tomatoes, cut side down, in shallow wood-framed trays with nylon
netting for the bottom of the trays. Cover trays with protective netting
(or cheesecloth). Place in direct sun, raised from the ground on blocks or
anything else that allows air to circulate under the trays. Turn the
tomatoes over after about 1 1/2 days, to expose the cut side to the sun.
Place the trays in a sheltered spot after sundown, or if the weather turns
bad.

After the tomatoes are dry, store in air-tight containers, or pack in oil.

To pack in oil:
Dip each tomato into a small dish of white wine vinegar. Shake off the
excess vinegar and pack them in olive oil. Make sure they are completely
immersed in the oil.

When the jar is full, cap it tightly and store at *cool* room temperature
for at least a month before using. They may be stored in the refrigerator,
but the oil will solidify at refrigerator temperatures (it quickly
reliquifies at room temperature however).

As tomatoes are removed from the jar, add more olive oil as necessary to
keep the remaining tomatoes covered.

The author notes that she has stored oil-packed tomatoes in her pantry for
over a year with tremendous success. She also notes that she has tried a
number of methods to pack the tomatoes in oil, but she says the vinegar
treatment is the difference between a good dried tomato and a great one.
It is also important from a food safety standpoint, as it acidifies the
oil and discourages growth of bacteria and mold.

****** WARNING ********

Do *NOT* add fresh garlic cloves to oil-packed dried tomatoes, UNLESS you
store them in the refrigerator. Garlic is a low-acid food which, when
placed in oil, creates a low-acid anaerobic environment - the perfect
growth medium for botulinum bacteria if the mixture is not refrigerated.
Botulism poisoning is characterized by a very high mortality rate. Be safe
and add your garlic to the dried tomatoes as part of the recipe for them
*after* they come out of the oil.

Now that we have a pint of sun-dried tomatoes, what do we do with them?
Their chewiness makes them somewhat unwieldy, unless sliced or chopped.
The author offers the following recipe, which is "Rich, dark, and pungent,
... a heavenly concoction".

Essence of Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 C (moderately packed) sun-dried tomatoes (if oil-packed, drain and
reserve the oil)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp drained capers
1 Tbl coarsely chopped fresh basil (or 1 1/2 tsp dried) 1 1/2 Tbl olive
oil (use reserved oil from oil-packed tomatoes, if you
used them)
1 Tbl red wine vinegar.

Place tomatoes, garlic, capers and basil in bowl of food processor.
Process just until mixture is chopped, NOT pureed. Add oil and vinegar and
pulse food processor just until mixture is combined.

Place in covered jar and store in refrigerator. Will keep indefinitely.
Let it come to room temperature before using.

She suggests the following uses for this:

Sandwich spread
Add to tomato-based pasta sauce
Mix together with pesto and toss with fetuccini or other pasta Spread on
crackers, or raw zucchini sliced into rounds Mock pizza, with English
muffins and cheese.

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From: pratt@olympus.net (Kim & Chris Pratt)
Newsgroups: rec.food.preserving
Subject: Re: Dried Tomatos in Oil
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 09:35:16

I have an Excalibur dehydrator. I have the Roma plum tomatos and when
they are ripe I cut them in half and put them face down in the dehydrator at 125 degrees. The key is to not allow them to dry so long that they get brittle. I watch them until they are leathery. Since I will be storing them under oil, I'm not worried about getting every ounce of moisture out like I do my other dried veggies. Some tomatos I will probably allow to dry all the way so that I can store them without the oil for reconstituting in other recipes where I wouldn't want the olive-oil.

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Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1994 16:18:36 -0400
From: Denise Gluck
Subject: RECIPE: sun-dried tomatoes

Rebakah asked how to make her own sun-dried tomatoes. Here goes:
Start with perfect, ripe tomatoes- preferably Roma, but cherry or even regular
slicing tomatoes will do in a pinch. Cut in half from stem end to blossom
end (for Roma or cherry) or in 1/2" slices (for slicing toms). Place, cut
side down, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and sprayed very
lightly with Pam. Place in 200-degree oven until dried, turning two or three
time in the process, which may take eight hours, depending on juiciness of
tomatoes. Store in sterile jars in a cool place, as is or covered with olive oil.

Denise Gluck

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Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1994 16:26:13 -0500
From: Lyn Belisle
Subject: Re: Sun-dried tomatoes

On Mon, 18 Jul 1994, Rebecca Ashmore wrote:

It is so easy -- we do it all the time. We pick Roma tomatoes, slice
them in half lengthwise, and salt them lightly. Then we put them on one
of those "disoposable" pizza pans that you can buy at most grocery
stores. They are made of aluminum and have holes all over them.
We put them in a 150-175F oven and leave them overnight. the next
morning, they should be leathery but not crispy. Some I keep just as
they are, but I also pack some in olive oil with garlic and rosemary.

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Date: Tue, 19 Jul 1994 10:35:40 BST
From: Piers Thompson
Subject: Sun Dried Tomatoes

I have a quicker way to dry tomatoes than those already posted. It is from
"Keep it Simple" by Alastair Little.

Take some ripe tomatoes (I use plum tomatoes) and
----------
ried Tomato recipes
if large. Using a small knife, remove the pips and pulp so just the flesh is
left. Oil a baking tray with olive oil and place tomatoes on it, cut side up.
Sprinkle with a little sugar and salt and drizzle over some olive oil (omit all of these if you like). Bake in a 120C (250F) oven until dried but still soft
(about 3 hours but depends on your oven).

I think this method is quicker than the others because the pulp is removed
before the tomatoes are dried and so there is less moisture to evaporate. They seem to have much more flavour than shop-bought sun dried tomatoes.

Piers
pjt1@scigen.co.uk

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Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
From: alg@cs.cornell.edu (Anne Louise Gockel)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 12:26:01 -0400
Subject: MISC: Dried Tomato recipes

During the summer I take a few bushels of Italian plum tomatoes, salt
them lightly and dry them in a dehydrator for 12-24 hours. They are
wonderful in salads, biscuits , omlets, deviled eggs, quiche and as a
topping for fish or chicken dishes. They are also good straight from
the jar as a snack. They have a very intense tomato flavor that perks
up almost any dish. One quart of dried tomatoes represents about 1/8
of a bushel (or about 1/4 of a paper grocery sack) of fresh tomatoes.

Refreshing the tomatoes:

The dried tomatoes should be refreshed by soaking them in hot water
before you use them in most recipes. Bring 1-2 cups of hot water to a
boil and add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of tomatoes. Let the tomatoes soak for
several minutes; as few as 2 minutes if they are thin and as much as 8
minutes if they are fairly thick. After soaking you may wish to slice
or chop the tomatoes. If your dinner recipe calls for water, use the
water from soaking the tomatoes instead. Otherwise save the water and
add it to your vegetable water for stock.