Saving the Harvest: Dehydrating Tomatoes

It seems like this time of year everything is getting ripe in the vegetable garden at once! I dread looking at the cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes because there are so many each day. I don't have my big freezer anymore, thanks to the flood this summer, and my little freezer in the refrigerator is completely packed. When I get enough tomatoes at one time I will can them. When they are coming faster than I can use, but not fast enough to can, I either freeze or dehydrate them.

I have a lot of cherry tomatoes...volunteers, not intended, but they are there just the same. I don't bother canning them and I don't want to freeze them, so I get out the dehydrator. With cherry tomatoes, I just wash them, cut them in half and place them on the drying trays.

I dry my cherry tomatoes for about 12 hours at 130 degrees. I have three trays ready to go. Everything is set and now I just relax and let it do it's thing.

When these are dry they will be fairly flat and leathery. To test to see when the are dry I tear one in half. I can see any moisture inside by looking at the torn edges. It is important that they are dry completely with no moisture pockets as this can cause rot if not kept frozen. At the same time, I don't want them completely brittle.

I like to chop these little gems and use them when making breads, for putting in salads and garnishing focaccia and other things.  They have a really sweet, rich flavor when they are dried. Think of fresh intensified! Another way to store them is to place them in a jar with some olive oil and garlic. This needs to be kept refridgerated due to the garlic. They take up remarkably little room. A few quart jars full of dehydrated vegetables will hold enough for several soups, stews, cassaroles and more and will last through the year.

I dry the large tomatoes as well. These are so easy to dehydrate. I boil them for about 30 seconds to one minute. Then I dump them into a pan of very cold water. I let them cool in the water. The skins will easily slip off the tomato. I simply cut the core out and slice them about 3/8" thick. I place these on the trays. I try to keep some of the best slices to snack on as slices. The small or imperfect pieces I use in soups and other cooking. At this point I may or may not season the slices with different herbs so they are really tasty later.

My tomatoes were not dry by the time I went to bed so I lowered the temperature in the dehydrator to 95 degrees over night. In the morning I tested for moisture and removed anything that was dry. I turned the temperature back up to 130 degrees.

I am using an old dehydrator I have had for close to twenty years. It is a great kitchen tool. I can dry all kinds of fruits, vegetables, herbs and other things in it. I have about seven trays so I can really load it up. Jerky is a breeze. Fruit leathers are easy as well. Once the food is loaded on the trays and the temperature set, it does all the work by itself. I start checking for pieces that are completely dehydrated after about 6-7 hours. The drying time varies due to the type and thickness of the food, how full the dehydrator is, how much liquid is in the food and so on. I remove pieces as they are completely dry and leave the rest to finish.
This is my plate of tomato slices! Doesn't look like much, but remember, this is three trays of tomato slices. The flavor and nutrients are highly concentrated. A little bit goes a long way when they are rehydrated or used in cooking. They will store in very little space. Four or five slices equals one whole tomato.

the cherry tomatoes are done now as well. Roughly 2 quarts of tomatoes reduced to less than two cups! Here is what I have.Even I have room in the freezer for these. They can also be stored in air-tight containers on a shelf.