Preserving the Harvest - Dehydrating Tomatoes

If I had room to grow only one plant in my vegetable garden, my choice would be a tomato plant.  There is no comparison between a juicy sweet tomato picked fresh from your garden and eaten while still warm from the sun and the cold, hard, tasteless globes in the grocery store masquerading as tomatoes.

Dried heirloom tomatoes ready for storage.

In our zone 4 Minnesota garden we have fresh tomatoes for only 4 to 6 weeks depending on the first frost date, but sometimes we are lucky enough to have lots of tomatoes during that time.  

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The most common way to preserve the summer tomato harvest is to can them as whole tomatoes, tomato sauce or salsa.  I love having canned tomatoes on hand, but recently have also discovered the joys of dehydrated tomatoes which are also referred to as "sun dried tomatoes.  

Minnesota summers can be quite humid so drying in the sun is not a viable option as in can be in desert climates.  Drying tomatoes in a dehydrator is a fairly simple process and has several advantages over canning.  Dehydrated tomatoes require a smaller amount of storage space and contain nutrients that are lost in the high heat canning process.

Assemble your Supplies

• Fresh ripe tomatoes
• Dehydrator - I use the Excalibur brand with 10 square trays, temperature gauge, and timer
• Cutting Board
• Sharp knife

Rinse off the tomatoes with water.

Remove the area where the stem is attached along with any damaged areas.

Cut the tomatoes in slices that are about 1/2 thick.  Home grown tomatoes are very juicy and with all the moisture removed a 1/2 inch slice will become a very thin dried chip.

Sliced tomatoes on the square Excalibur trays.

Place the slices single layer on the plastic mesh of the dehydrator tray.  The Excalibur has mesh sheet that you can bend which makes it much easier to remove the dried pieces.  Plan on upwards of 24 hours (depending on the level of humidity in your region) to fully dehydrate the tomatoes.

Dehydrated tomatoes should be leathery or even crispy.  If they feel sticky or soft they need more time.  Moisture and air can cause spoilage.  Be sure that your tomatoes are fully dried before placing them in glass canning jars.

A vacuum sealer removes air and preserves freshness.

Some vacuum sealers have a jar attachment that is sold separately.  Place a canning lid on the top of the jar, fit the attachment on the top and push down until it is secure.  Then start the vacuum sealer.  You will hear it running and then changing tone as all the air is expelled.  

Once the unit stops making the sucking sound, turn it off.  When you remove the jar attachment the lid should be concave and sealed tightly to the top of the jar.  Screw on a canning ring, label lid with date, and store.

Vacuum sealer attachments come in regular and wide mouth sizes.

Store your dehydrated tomatoes in a space that is dark and has a moderate temperature.This method is a very effective way to keep your dehydrated tomatoes fresh while in storage.

Tips;

• Place a jar of canned tomatoes in a blender with dehydrated tomatoes and blend to create an instant tomato sauce.

• Reconstitute tomatoes by soaking them in a small amount of liquid.  When they are soft, pour off the liquid and they are ready to eat.

• Reconstitute dried tomatoes in an olive oil and vinegar dressing and use as a pizza topping.

• Replace fresh tomatoes in recipes with reconstituted tomatoes.

• Use dried tomatoes as an ingredient in stock powder (see my Stock Powder; Nutrition + Flavor post).

• Powder dried tomatoes in a VitaMix dry container and use to thicken soups.