How to Dry Tomatoes

When the tomatoes starting coming in on my little homestead, putting them by one way or another begins.  First comes the salsa.  By popular request (and threats), that must be made first.  So I always make a minimum of 35 pints of tomato salsa (peach salsa is separate).  Once that has been done and more tomatoes ripen, I can the tomatoes themselves.  San Marzano tomatoes are the best for sauce, salsa, canning, and drying.  So I then can several quarts of whole tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.

Then time goes by and we get into Fall.  The salsa is all done.  The tomatoes are all canned.  But we still have more tomatoes.  This is the time of year when I begin to dry tomatoes, and San Marzanos are the best for this!  Any "plum" sauce tomato will do, of course, but San Marzanos have the most flavor and are extremely prolific.  So let's get started!

Wash all your tomatoes and set aside to dry.  Then cut them in half lengthwise as you see the tomatoes on the left.  Put a screen sieve in the sink and, using your thumb, scoop the core and seeds out into the sieve.  The tomatoes on the right have all been scooped.

Now, grab a tomato half and begin to turn it inside out, but stop when it becomes flattened.  It's okay if the sides split a little like you see in the picture.  Pack your dehydrator trays with the tomatoes, cut side up.  Dry at 135 degrees for 8 to 15 hours or so.  Some tomatoes will finish drying before others.  That's perfectly fine.

Here you see the finished product.  I wish this picture was better because it does not do these tomatoes justice.  The tomatoes are dry when you can't feel any more "squishiness" to them.  Slight pliability is fine--squish is not.  Remove the tomatoes that are dry, and continue to dry those that need more time.

And really, that's all there is to it!  It's so simple you might not even think of it, but it's a wonderful way to preserve the bounty of your gardens.  You get to a point where you get "all canned out,"  lol.  Drying is the answer at that point.  After I dry the tomatoes I vacuum pack them in small portions in plastic bags.  This is a real plus because it makes the tomatoes last a really long time--years, as opposed to maybe one year without vacuum packing.

What do you do with these dried tomatoes that look like shoe leather?  Ah, those succulent beauties!!  You can drop them right into soups and stews and they'll plump up all on their own.  You can rehydrate them in water, drain, and use in salads.  I like to put pepperoni, feta cheese, olives, basil, rehydrated tomatoes, and a good amount of olive oil in a bowl.  Maybe add a few pickled hot peppers.  Mix and eat--it's great with a glass of wine!  You can also use rehydrated tomatoes in mayonnaise-based dips or as a thickening base along with onion in Indian food.  The sky is the limit as they are so delicious!  Once you have a bunch of them, you'll find hundreds of uses for them online, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without them!

NOTE:  If you don't have a dehydrator, you can dry your tomatoes in the oven.  Set your oven for 200 degrees, or lower if you can.  Put the tomatoes on cake racks and dry them the same way as above, removing those that are dry and leaving those that need more time.  AND, if you live in a very hot climate, you can dry your tomatoes in the sun.  Place them on a screen and cover with another raised screen to keep the bugs out.  Dry the same as above.  This only works in a hot climate when the sun is shining, but it works quite well if you happen to live in an area like that.