Now that tomato harvest is in full swing, one way of preserving them for future use is by slicing and drying them. Some suggest seasoning the tomatoes before drying, I did not.
- Method 1 was placing the tomatoes in a parchment paper lined tray in the oven, the gas pilot keeps the oven at about 100 degrees farenheit. Very good results in about 24 hours.
- Method 2 was placing the tray , covered with a sheet of plexiglass, in direct sunlight. The resulting water from the tomatoes was trapped so holes were drilled for ventilation. But even with the drilled holes for ventilation, the water vapor was till present. Ultimately, an enclosure should be constructed bigger than the tray alone with adequate ventilation.
I’ve dried about 3 trays to date, of the tomatoes. Their flavor is very concentrated, the dried tomato could be processed onto a powder if necessary and the uses for dried tomato are many in recipes. Since drying is relatively easy, there is a cost savings if one would buy them outright.
the dried result
stored in a small mason jar, some recommend covering the dried tomato with oil.
plexiglass covered tray for outdoor sun drying.
Even with the holes drilled the moisture collects, maybe no cover at all.
In a way it’s ironic that some of the water put into the growing cycle of tomato is removed by drying, for preservation. I don’t can tomatoes (water bath method), but if there is an oversupply not used during peak ripeness, I may blanch peel and freeze them.
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