Drying Tomatoes?

[SiouzQ.]

Can one make "sun-dried" tomatoes without the sun? I have ripening tomatoes coming out of my ears and have been chopping and freezing them, but now the freezer is full! Can you do it in an gas oven on low?

[Acorn]

I didn't even know could freeze tomatoes. Is there anything you have to do to them before popping them in the freezer? Do you use plastic bags to freeze them? What a great idea.

[Mrs. Hermit]

I have made dried tomatoes in a food dehydrator, so I assume it would work in a gas oven. I sliced up paste type tomatoes when I dried them.

[pinkytoe]

I was walking the other day when it was still blazing hot and noticed a tray of tomatos on the front seat of a closed car.

[SiouzQ.]

While I was at work I looked up on-line about how to dry tomatoes and read about the hot interior of a car method! I also could slice them very thin and put them on baking sheets and use the gas oven on a real low temperature, but it might take 10- 12 hours...hmmm, I hardly drive my car during the week, so maybe I'll try that method after all, so as not to use up so much natural gas. It is supposed to be very warm here again for the next few days. I just picked the last of the green tomatoes and am getting them to ripen just fine between layers of newspaper in a brown paper grocery sack. I'm still getting a few yellow squash and zucchini as well. For an 8 x 8 foot square plot, I can't believe how much produce I've gotten this summer, and I didn't plant anything until the 3rd week of June!

PS: I freeze chopped fresh tomatoes by dumping them in boiling water to loosen the skins, peel and then chop them up and put into small zip-lock baggies. I will use them for stews, spaghetti sauce, etc, throughout the winter instead of buying canned tomatoes.

[Marianne]

Yes! Tomatoes! If you open my freezer door, the first thing you'll see is this wave of red. I do as SiouzQ, except I cook mine for 20 minutes after peeling and chopping, cool and ladle into whatever jars I have around here (leave headspace) and pop them in the freezer. I make gobs of spaghetti sauce (with and w/o meat), salsa, ketchup (for cooking), BBQ sauce, you name it, I'll try to make it. I shoot for enough to last us until the tomato harvest the following year.

But drying? Ehhh...I haven't had the best of luck with that yet. Three pans + 12 hours or longer in the ele oven yielded about a pint of weird looking tomato slices that I never got brave enough to use. I was going to try the car method of dehydrating, then decided to stick with what works best for me. DH also was not digging the idea of tomatoes in the car. :o) http://www.pickyourown.org has lots of tips.

[Charity]

You can dry them in your oven. Cut them in half and place them cut side up on a tray lined with parchment paper. Turn your oven on to 200 or 225 and then put a spoon or something in the oven door to keep it slightly ajar. Check on them over the course for 4-6 hours or until they're as dry as you'd like them to be.

[CathyA]

About freezing tomatoes........so easy! They used to say you couldn't, but you can! But they are best for things like soup and stews, etc. Some people just wash and dry them and put them in plastic bags in the freezer. They say the skin comes right off when you go to use them. But I dip them in boiling water, then cold water and remove the skins and cut them up. I used to bring them to a boil, then cool them before putting them in the freezer, but that step isn't necessary. I just dip them, remove skins,cut them up and freeze them.

About drying.........I've never completely dried mine, but cut them in 1/2" slices, brushed with olive oil and salt and pepper them and put some rosemary and thyme on them and put them on parchment paper and in a slow oven for a couple hours. and they are DELISH. They are slightly dehydrated and very yummy. Good on sandwiches, pizzas, pastas. But I don't know how you could store them for a period of time.

Dang. I wish all my tomato plants weren't dead. They are so good.