Comments on: Easy Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:47:26 +0000

I bet it would work awesome in AZ. Cover them with cheesecloth if you have any. Or make a “dome” out of screen if you happen to have a roll handy. My guess is any light, breathable material would work. Whatever the cover, it is probably a good idea to make sure it doesn’t touch the tomatoes.

If you decide to try this please take some pics! I’d love to post them!

Zucchini is drying at this moment btw. House smells awesome.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:30:08 +0000

I bet if I try that out here in Arizona it will only take a few minutes (just kidding)!! Maybe something to try this weekend! If you dry them outside, any suggestions on what to cover them with so no bugs get to them?

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:17:56 +0000

Thank you for the input and photo Nicole. Growing your own definitely makes them a lot cheaper!

Funny you should mention your car. I have read in many places if you cover the tomatoes with some sort of screen (to keep flies off) and put the trays INSIDE your car on a sunny day they will dry in a matter of a few hours! Makes sense to me — the inside of a car is basically a hot oven. It would be interesting to see if anyone has tried this. Maybe if I get ambitious I’ll give it a shot just to say I did it LOL.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:57:39 +0000

Last year I sun dried a batch of farmer’s market tomatoes ( in the sun) and they were superb.The only place I could figure out that was safe from all the critters-dog, cats, chickens, birds- was on the roof of my car. I couldn’t even put it on the house roof as there was currently a feral cat there, minding her two kittens. The slices took 3 days to dry ( the cherry halves 2) see pic:
http://bp3.blogger.com/_8KAsKEYq-Po/R8WN2sFGpTI/AAAAAAAADNQ/p8DHxor3-mg/s1600-h/collage13.jpg
However I have to say the cost was actually much more than what would I have paid for a similar quantity in the supermarket. But the taste was far superior.

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:47:32 +0000

I’m wondering the same thing. The dehydration concentrates the flavor a lot. Maybe I’ll pick some up from the store and do a comparison.

Tonight I’m making zucchini chips. Be interesting how they turn out.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:34:30 +0000

Wow! I just bought a bag of sun dried tomatoes at the store for almost $5!! (very small bag by the way!). I wonder if they would be as good with store bought romas?

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:25:53 +0000

I’ll give you $11 for it!

By: marci357

marci357 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:33:06 +0000

Got my Harvest Maid dehydrator at a garage sale for $10 about 12 years ago – VERY good deal! Luv it!

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:33:07 +0000

Thanks for the comment! A dehydrator would have made it even easier. One of these days I’ll have one to try it out!

Tomato powder is an interesting idea.

By: marci357

marci357 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:13:56 +0000

I use my dehydrator at 140 and I usually slice them into rounds.
I think the fan running on them helps take the moisture away and also heats up the house less than running my oven – personal preference only
Agree that the Romas are best for this – but all worked out ok.
After drying, I just store in a glass jar or in ziplocks in the cupboard – a year later they were still good. I use in soups and stews all year round.

If they dry too much and are crumbly, you can also save that separately and use it as tomato powder to add to soups or stews