Dateline: 3 September 2013
I'm drying tomatoes. I like to dry tomatoes because it's so doggone easy to do, and they're so good.
If you go on YouTube and check out the videos about dehydrating tomatoes, you'll find people who parboil and peel the skins off tomatoes before drying them. And there are people who remove all the seeds before drying them. That's too much work!
I just wash, slice and dry. The tomatoes above are some of the Tommy Toe tomatoes I grew on a string trellis, as explained at This Web Site. The Tommy Toes are the size of a ping pong ball, and they grow in copious clusters. I sliced them into quarters and cut away the little bit of toughness at the base of each stem.
They dry for 10 hours, or so, at 130 to 140 degrees before they're sufficiently hardened. Then they go into canning jars with a tight lid.
The dried tomatoes can go into winter soups, but mostly we will consume them just as they are, right out of the jar, like a snack, in the winter months.
I eat them like a lozenge, letting them soften and dissolve in my mouth before chewing and swallowing the pulp. They're full of nutrition, especially if you leave the skin and seeds on them.
That is so neat, I didn't know it was that easy. We had a bad year for tomatoes so I will have to wait until next year to try any drying. Maybe I can have my wood cook stove set up and try to keep a low fire in that to dry with.
ReplyDeleteDried tomatoes are awesome. We've also dried bananas, mushrooms, strawberries... even okra.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I've found with dehydrated foods is that they're so delicious it's hard to stop eating them.
I'll sit at my desk and write with a jar of dehydrated mangoes or something, munching away as I type, then suddenly realize I've eaten the equivalent of 23 fresh fruits.
"Sorry, pancreas. Hope the extra nutrition balances out all the sugar..."
Herrick,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your tomatoe post,last year we smoked plum tomatoes and smoked red jalapeno peppers which became chipotle peppers. We gave these away to chefs and friends and were incredebly well received.I also say this in regards to a possible small business in regards to your son.I also forgot to mention sun dried tomatoes.I think the upfront cost could be incredibly low.Just brainstorming.
great idea-I just picked some plum tomatoes that are mini this year-I canned up some-but I think this batch will go in the dehydrator-thanks for the idea Kathy
ReplyDeleteHi Herrick, Out here on Block Island we had a so-so year for tomatoes. As kathyinozarks said they were all a lot smaller than usual. But we managed to make48 quart jars of tomato sauce, 36, 2 cup freezer bags of tomato soup, and my Cabela dehydrator has been goin practically 24 hours a day drying the rest of the four types we planted.
ReplyDeleteI delayed planting my corn this year for 30 days to see what would happen with the corn borers. I also applied a mix of corn oil and BT with my Zea-Later applicator from Johnnys Seeds. Just peeled open the four ears from four patches and it is by far the best corn we have EVER HAD OUT HERE!
Also just checked the ground temp under my huge Sweet 'tater patch. It is still about 60 degrees. Got me a "Sweet Potato Cooker all built to hold four bread trays,Covered with a couple of moving quilts, and heated with a milk house heater I got fromGlobe Industries on line for $19.95!
Love this site, read it all the time, but don't want to hog the comment box. PS. Absolutely love the Whiz Bang Wheel Hoe.
Best Everett Littlefield
Sunnybrook,
ReplyDeleteI think the wood cook stove will do it just fine.
David the Goode,
Dried mangoes! That sounds exotic. The dried tomatoes are a bit acidic to the taste.
David Taylor,
I like the way you think.
Kathy,
You're welcome. :-)
Everett,
You're a busy man! Thanks for the ideas. You're welcome to hog the comment box all you want.