Topic: what tomato to oven dry

[salad muncher]

with the glut of veg each year I thought I would try drying out excess tomato's in the oven to give that sun dried feeling and bottle them. So has any one tried this and what is the best tomato to use so I can get seeds at the ready.

[tim]

Any plum or paste tom like Roma or San Marzano? I believe!

[Derekthefox]

I had to use what was available - Alicante - I believe, but the result was stupendous, two trays of tomatoes never made their way to being stored ...

Derekthefox :D

[cleo]

Derek? Alicante?-you have more taste than that :) Quite a few plum toms will dry Ok,try Principe Borghese.


Stephan

[Derekthefox]

I lost almost all of my tomato crops last year Stephan, and ended up with a few alicante plants which survived ... beggars can't be choosers ...

Derekthefox :D

[sandersj89]

I have dried toms for the last 5 or 6 years and dry everything including Tumbler, sungold, San Marzona, Roma, Alicante, Gardners Delight, Tigerella, Ferline, Brandywine and more.

They all dry very well.

I slice in half or quarter the larger ones, sprinkle with a little mixed herbs and malden sea salt and pop on a rack in a very low oven until just turning colour, they then go into kilner jars and covered with olive oil and put in a cool dark place until needed.

Jerry

[djbrenton]

The standard tomato for drying is Principe Borghese, available from seeds of italy. It's what you buy as sun dried from Italy. I dried around 100 this year. Highly recommended.

[Derekthefox]

There is always next year ...

Derekthefox :D

[undercarriage plan]

Well, if it's red and round, it gets oven dried.....

[Derekthefox]

I have to agree, anything oven dried is better than nothing - I took a sample to work, and most people were amazed at the flavour, they said they had tasted nothing like it ...

Derekthefox :D

[Bagpuss74]

Nice idea Wardy.  This would supplement the homemade pickle, chili strings and the like planned for my foodie friends this Christmas  :P

[jennym]

This year I did two different things.
Firstly I grew Roma vf tomatoes, and got a fantastic crop. (grown outdoors) They are a good plum tomato, of a fairly large size. They are fleshy, with few seeds and good thick skins - this was an advantage because the slugs seemed to leave them alone.
I didn't do much in the way of supporting the plants, and they did ok, very bushy and prolific. I think I got about 15-20 kg per plant, had about 12 plants
Secondly I bought a food drier, same size as a microwave oven, with 5 drawers. I can get more in that than I can on trays in my conventional oven, and it is very efficient, with 2 heat settings and can dry the tomatoes and other things within about 7 - 8 hours. I slice them in half lengthways. When dry, I store them either in jars of olive oil, or in plastic bags in the freezer (I know its not necessary to freeze, but I do, and they take up so little room dried).
I did try drying other tomatoes, such as Sungold and Red Alert, but they are more pippy, and not so fleshy, so didn't give such good results.

[Derekthefox]

Yet again, at this time of year I am filled with these visions of mountains of tomatoes, being snowed under by the things. I dont think I got 5kg of this seasons crop ...
Yes I will be growing Roma again, because they are ideal for the kitchen, knowing they dry well will inspire me to try those as well. Here's just hoping I can turn my dreams into reality ...

Derekthefox :D

PS, lovely picture of your children by the way Jen ...

[Meg]

I roasted some and froze them mmmmm. Good on pizza's n pasta.

[salad muncher]

Thanks for your tips and advice cant wait this summer wont be having so much tomato soup  ;) wish I had thought of this idea sooner.

[Vez1]

www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk sell one specifically for this purpose.It is just called sun dried if you request their veg catalogue the have a huge selection of tomatoes. :)

[adrianhumph]

 Hi all,  :D
                 I`m very interested in this tomato drying idea,  ;)  how about some tips on time required to dry them out  ???
                                                          Adrian.

[djbrenton]

Naturally it depends on the size but they're just right when they have the consistency of a raisin ( but hopefully not the same size ). In a low oven with the door slightly ajar, anything up to maybe 10 hours.

[jennym]

... In a low oven with the door slightly ajar, anything up to maybe 10 hours.

That's why I bought the food dryer - can't cope without an oven for cooking other stuff for 10 hours!

[Derekthefox]

I have put my oven on the lowest possible setting, it is just indicated with an S ... that took about 10 hours I guess ...

Derekthefox :D