I've been making my own sun-dried tomatoes all week! (ingredients, tomato, bread)

[Tracysherm]

I LOVE sun-dried tomatoes, but I tend to get a little annoyed at how much they cost. Here in my area, fresh tomatoes are super-cheap this time of year (or free if you're growing them yourself) so it made much more sense for me to try to make my own.

I hope this might help others who are clueless like I was. I'm not a kitcheny person, really, and I tend to buy stuff that I could probably make myself if I were more motivated to do so.

I have a food dehydrator, so I first looked in the instruction booklet that came with it. It basically says to cut tomatoes in half or quarters, sprinkle some salt on them and dry for 8-10 hours on 135-140 degrees.
I found several websites that said essentially the same thing.

Well, first lesson: It took MUCH longer than 8-10 hours. More like 22-24 hours.

Most websites I read said to stick with "paste tomatoes" which might also be called Roma tomatoes, San Marzano, or plum tomatoes.

I tried several different kinds, including regular old Jersey tomatoes from my neighbor.

Next lesson I learned:
Paste tomatoes do work best for sun-dried tomatoes, but the others also work well, if you do some extra de-gooping preparation...

I cut the tomatoes in smaller pieces, like in eighths. I scraped out the seeds and the slimy goopy stuff that surrounds the seeds. That made a HUGE difference! They dried much faster, as that goopy stuff contains a lot of moisture. (I always scrape that stuff out when I put tomatoes on a sandwich too, since it makes bread & rolls soggy). The paste tomatoes have much less goop and seeds than bigger round tomatoes like Jersey tomatoes. So the paste tomatoes were less work, but the results were the same for either kind.

Next lesson I learned: not much seasoning is needed. I sprinkled on a little kosher salt or natural sea salt. Regular table salt works too, but for some reason the ones with the more natural salts tasted better. That's just me. I tried some with a little oregano or basil, but I really like the ones with just salt the best. They have so much flavor, you really don't need extra spices. So try some spices, but you may just prefer the salted ones. They were even okay with no salt, if you have sodium concerns, but I just like stuff salty (plus I tend toward LOW blood pressure!)

Once I got all the seed goop out, they dried in about 10 hours. But some of them felt too "wet" inside after that time. So next time I cut extra slits in the skin of the bigger wedges. This allowed more moisture to escape, so they were almost all good after 9-10 hours. I don't like them super-dry and hard, but also not moist and juicy. I prefer them leathery. You really have to play around with them to figure out what you like best. The more moisture you leave in them, the shorter the shelf-life (or fridge life).

The amazing thing is that several pounds of tomatoes yielded only a (well-stuffed) zip-loc sandwich bag full of sun-dried tomatoes.

I eat them a lot, so I plan to make enough to last until next summer when tomatoes are extremely cheap again. I also get family members and neighbors who try to give away tomatoes around September, since they usually end up with too many to eat themselves, so I'll definitely dry those too.

I'm glad I'll never buy sundried tomatoes in the stores again. Also, they sometimes have a preservative in them to preserve freshness or color. Who needs that? I just kept the ones I'll use in the next month in zip-loc bags in the fridge, but the ones I want to last all winter, I'll vacuum seal before refrigerating.

Oh, also, there is a way to make actual sun-dried tomatoes in the actual sun, but it takes several weeks apparently, so that wouldn't work for me. There are also websites that tell you how to make them in the oven or on the dashboard of your car. But I prefer the dehydrator myself.

Hope this can help someone else! Please add your experiences with making sundried tomatoes.

[Tracysherm]

Oh, one more lesson learned: If you decide to eat a whole bag of sundried tomatoes for dinner one night, you may need some Immodium handy

[Sweet*Tea]

I love sun dried tomato pesto. Will you be making any?

[Tracysherm]

Hmmm, that's probably beyond my abilities.
But please post a recipe.

[Bunjee]

Y'know, I just never think to make sun-dried tomatoes. Year in and year out the garden sprouts them and I don't put in the effort. I love sun-dried tomatoes. Garden fresh would make them extra sweet too. Even my under-ripe tomatoes are sweeter than anything in the store.

So thanks. I'm inspired.

[Sweet*Tea]

I would think you'd make it the same way as you would basil pesto and just add in the sun dried tomatoes. Maybe someone else that has made it could chime in. I always buy mine already made. I have only made basil pesto.

[Tracysherm]

Hmmm, the same way I would make basil pesto.........
lost me there

[Sweet*Tea]

Here's a recipe for basil pesto.

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe


Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Special equipment needed: A food processor

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

[Sweet*Tea]

Found a recipe for sun dried tomato pesto.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Recipe




Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Adapted from At Home with Magnolia by Sara at Imafoodblog.com



Yield: About 1 Cup

• 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
• 1/2 cup toasted whole almonds
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 generous packed cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1/4 cup grated parmigianno regianno
• 1 cup olive oil

1. Drain your sun dried tomatoes, lightly rinse them, and then pat them dry with a paper towel.
2. Toast your almonds in a dry shallow pan. They will take about 10 minutes, and you will smell when they are done.
3. In a large food processor, combine the basil, toasted almonds, garlic, lemon zest, and salt. Process until coarsely chopped.
4. Add the sun dried tomatoes and parmigianno cheese and process until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped.
5. Now stream in the olive oil slowly and process until the pesto comes together.
6. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 6 weeks

[stepka]

If you want to dry more at a time, you could stick them in your car. If you're a redneck, you probably have an old car sitting out in the yard, which would be handy for your purpose. If you're not a redneck, you'll get strange looks from your co-workers, but I do use my car to dry stuff sometimes, b/c it gets that perfect dry heat.