Great post! Thanks for the info. I seem to do best with cherry and grape tomatoes, and am always looking for good ways to preserve the harvest.

Brokenbar, Thank you for the info! Now I'm really looking forward to next year.

Thanks.

Two quick questions

1) Wouldn't determinants allow you to have enough fruit to do batches more easily? or do you have enough plants (and limited dehydrator space) that the slower production of indeterminates works for you?

2) Can they legally be called sundried if they are dried in a dehydrator?... In general, sunlight degrades colors and flavors so a dehydrator would be better but not sound as good.

Question: once the jar is opened, how long can it stay that way and does it need refrigeration at this point ?

Bigal

Per USDA home food preservation guidelines, anything packaged in oil must be refrigerated even before opening. No shelf storage is allowed. But I know some allow exceptions to that rule.

But after opening, definitely store in the fridge.

Dave

No Principe Borghese? I guess they are too small right?
Thanks for the information about dehydrating them

Indeterminates work best for me because I have nearly 150 plants. From about the middle of July to September I am humping my butt off slicing, soaking, sprinkling and drying. I have a huge outdoor sun drying outfit and I have a 20 drawer commercial stainless steel dehydrator. Almost none of the tomatoes you buy as "sun-Dried" are in fact "Sun Dried". If it was illegal to say so, you would see nice jars marked "Dehydrated Tomatoes" which you never do. Sun-Dried has become the accepted term. I have about half that really are sun-dried and half that arn't. No difference in finished product except the speed at which the dehydrator ones dry. My outdoor dryer allows me to do a huge batch at a time.

Principe Borghese I really LOVE these but they are so small it takes me forever to get a big bunch dehydrated.

I do grow about 3-7 plants of these and a couple of other Italian varieties (Federle,Basinga,Canestrino,De Barrao Black (RARE)) for which I charge more. The flavor is very much more piquant.

Thanks for the great info, brokenbar. I've never thought of a wine-soak, and I'm interested to try that.

I also love Principe Borghese, and my batches are small enough that their size isn't a problem. On the Ed Hume seed packet, he says "Fruit can be dried by hanging vines in dry sunny areas." Sounds simple, haven't tried it. Of course around here by the time vines are full of ripe fruit, there's not much sun left.

MA

Brokenbay,

Thanks a million for this information!

I will give it a try next year.

Can anyone recommend a good dehydrater for personal use.

John

I wanted to add this as petaining to sun-dried tomatoes in oil:
UC Davis on Dried Tomatoes in Oil http://cefresno.ucdavis.edu/files/11202.pdf

Also, a pint jar of sun-dried tomaotes in oil makes a GREAT gift. All my neighbors and friends and family get one at Christmas. If they return my "jar" they get an automatic upgrade to a quart jar!!!

John,

If you want to start small, you can dry them in an oven. Use low heat (150-200, if your oven goes that low) for about 6-10 hrs, depending on the temp and the oven. After the first few hrs you'll want to check on them regularly to avoid over-drying.

For oven-drying I put the prepared tomatoes (for Principe, halved with cut-side up) on wire racks set in rimmed baking pans. I've also used large cheap splatter screens (those flat screens you put over a skillet to trap grease splatters) with plastic handles removed.

Of course if you're doing large or frequent batches, dehydrators make more sense. Sorry I don't have a recommendation at the moment.

MA

Great Post!!! When I sat down at the computer last night I was wondering what I wanted to do with the 2 buckets of tomatoes that I had just picked. So I tried your method of sun drying with a wine soak on one bucket and one without the wine soak. At this moment one batch is drying in the oven. I can't wait to try them and your idea of giving them as gifts is terrific.

Is it OK to use fresh herbs instead of dried?

This is such a great post! Thanks brokenbar!

If I don't have a vacuum-sealer, how do I seal the jars for the oil-packed ones?

Andrea, from one San Diegan to another (I was raised on a ranch near AZ/Mex border) You can only use fresh herbs if the jars oacked in oil are refrigerated. As regards putting fresh herbs on them while drying, I think it should be okay because by the end the herbs would be dried.

Veggies-Lover, Just tighten the lids by hand. I prefer the vacuum sealer because it pulls the oil into the tomatoes and it removes any air in the jar. I should add here also that my root cellar (down in the ground 15 feet) where those in oil are stored stays at a constant 38 degrees so it is very much like refrigerating them.
SDT's (sounds like a communicable disease!) in pint jars with oil make GREAT gifts. I spray paint the canning lids with gold sparkle and tie a ribbon around them. I collect SDT recipes all year long and try to give everyone 5 new ones in a little booklet attached to the jar. You MUST put a sticker on the lid telling them to refrigerate. (There are some in my family I would like to "do away with" but poisoning them would be a little harsh...)

Also, for any of you that have the space, this is a great little business. As I use (I have another post on this forum about T posts) "T" posts (for you without livestock you can buy them at any fencing or feed store) that are 8' tall, so 7' after being pounded in. I am able to grow a whole lot of tomato plants in a realtively small space (T posts 3 feet apart) My sun-dried tomato business paid for a trip & cruise to Rome this year and bought my Xmas gifts for all. Most of the restaurants prefer just a bag of dried ones that they can use a little at a time and place in oil themselves. I buy the vacuum bags I use at Walmart (not name brand) so it's not prohibitively expensive to store them. The ones packed in oil carry a much heftier price as Olive Oil is not cheap (Costco...best price.)

If you are lookinfg for some great varieties next year, try
Marianna's Heirloom Seeds http://www.mariseeds.com/
& Tomatoe Bob http://www.tomatobob.com/ I have bought seeds from them for several years, always great germination and they have the best variety of paste type tomatoes anywhere. They even break down their catalog for Italian Culinary and paste.

Just as a side note...I prune my tomato plants once they reach the top of the T post. Any growth/tomatoes up there is going to be too late to harvest anyway. Pruning them just like a hedge puts the plants energy into the fruit already formed.

Allright, now I have coughed up all my "secret info!" I did forget that when I was just getting started, I sent out a flyer with all the varieties/prices/options etc. to every restaurant. I did this in the winter and folowed up with another mailing in May. I deliver once a week to COdy and once a week to Billings. I also have several restaurants in southern Wyoming that heard about me and I mail them their dried bags.

Someone asked about dehydrators. I have the one below and then I have a 20 tray unit that I bought used and it does not have a sticker or anything on it to tell what brand it is. The one below drys better in my opinion (faster) They run about 300.00 but sometimes you can find them for less on Ebay. I have used the one below for 9 years and it still runs like a champ.
Food Dehydrator Model SSFD
A professional dehydrating machine for meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Made of stainless steel. Equipped with a rear-mounted fan, heating element (800 W), and a thermostatic control. Comes with five 16" x 14.5" chrome plated shelves. The thermostat is adjustable to a maximum temperature of 175º F.

Model: SSFD
Power: 800W
Amps: 8W
IInner Dimensions: 15.25" x 16.5" x 13.5"
Electrical: 110V/60/1
Weight: 28.5 lbs.
Dimensions (LWH) : 18.75" x 16.5" x 17.5"

Brokenbay,

For personal use try a Nesco, the reviews are typically high. I have FD-75PR and its a great small appliance but still could dry a hundred plum tomatoes at a shot.

OK Folks here are the unscientific results of the test. I made one batch of sun-dried tomatoes using Brokenbar's method and one batch using a basic sun-drying technique.

Brokenbar's method: Core & slice maters, soak in merlot 24 hours. Sprinkle with basil, sea salt, oregano, parsely, and dry.

Basic sun-drying technique: Core and cut into chunks, sprinkle with sea salt and dry.

Oven dried both batches using my convection oven. The basic sun-drying method took 10 hours in the convection oven. Brokenbar's method of slicing into 1/4 inch slices only took 5 hours to dry and and were evenly cooked.

The basic sun-drying method didn't have much flavor and there were parts underdone and parts overdone.

Brokenbar's method with the wine soak was incredibly good and tasted & smelled like good pizza. The fact that the slices were all the same size helped a great deal in the cooking stage. All were cooked just right at the leathery stage.

So my unscientific test makes Brokenbar's method the best by a huge margin and I highly recommend it.

--Andrea

We tried your method............only one thing.....
they taste all vineagery.....

Did we not shake off enough of it? Have you had this happen before? She is placeing them back in the oven for a while after a sugar sprinkle........ we just tasted one.............pretty yummy so far.

Tom

I echo Andrea. A first small test batch of two pounds is just finishing up in the dehydrator. They cooked evenly, quickly and the taste is tremendous! I've already added more paste tomatoes to next year's garden plan.

Mary

I had a pile of roma's I didn't know what to do with until I read this post. I didn't follow completely, omitted the wine soak and oven dried. At first I also skipped the vinegar dip, the tomatoes were ok. I decided to go ahead and dip in vinegar and put in oil, WOW, what a difference, they are great. I am going to try the wine soak on my next bunch. Now I wish I had planted more! Thank you very much for this info, as I was unsure what to do with my Roma's because I don't find them very good to just each as is!

an excuse to buy red wine....thank you!

Yes...one can never have too much red wine!!! Tom, did you leave them in the vinegar? Because I just really quick dip them after they are dried and then add to the oil. I am so happy every likes this recipe. I am not kidding you, my friends and family nag me to death for extras. I thought I would throw in MY FAVORITE Sun-Dried Tomato Recipe! If I go to something where i have to bring a "dish" this is what I take. Buy some of those Kashi sun dried tomato crackers and there you go!
Sun Dried Tomato & Olive Pate (tamponade)
Makes 2 cups

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup minced black olive (I use Kalamara Olives but I have also used plain black in a pinch)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese, butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme and salt in a food processor container. Process until mixed, scraping side of container occasionally. Add olives, process just until mixed. I use a small, decorative jello mold sprayed with *Pam CHill for at least 4 hours. Invert onto serving platter.

Chill, covered, for 4 hours or longer.

I forgot to add on the recipe that this should be allowed to warm to room temperature before serving.

Uh Oh....
Another tasty sounding receipe........ I'll have to have her look at this one in the am.!

No, b,bar. just used white vinagar and just dipped em. When we do the next batch, it'll be a quick dip,n,shake.

I can feel my waist thickening just reading that one. dang man!

Yeah, it's not exactly low cal. If anyone is interested, I have a dynamite recipe for bread machine sun-dried tomato bread. It's fabulous and I make rolls and just freeze them.

As I said, I look for recipes all year and I have made every one of them before I ad them to my collection. Sun-Dried Tomatoes just ad so much pizzazz to everything. My hubby likes them diced and put on bagels with cream cheese.

My Gawd, those recipes sound awesome. It sounds like you have adjusted next year's tomato varieties for some around here. . including me!
Thanks for the post. I have also got a big basket of a various maters that I didn't know what to do with. Off to the LCBO for some wine!

Dang!....Sitting here at work drooling, stomach growling!

I wanted to say that you can dry any variety of tomato. The paste varieties are just more meaty and have fewer seeds.
My friend always grows a bunch of Eva Purple Balls and dehydrates those and she swears the flavor excedes all others.

Parmigian Sun-Dried Tomato Bread (Bread Machine)
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons oil that tomatoes are in
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white bread flour
6 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil (1/2 tsp fresh)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tblsp Parmigiana cheese

Add Water, Salt, Flour, Lemon Juice, Powdered Milk, Oil, yeast. Add remaining ingredients last 3 minutes of final knead cycle. If you are making rolls (which is what I usually do, I take the dough out at end of 2nd knead cycle. Roll into 2" balls and place in Pam sprayed muffin tins. Bake 30 minutes at 350. I just keep checking them.
These freeze beautifully and it is so handy to pull a few out of a vacuum sealed bag or ziplock. This is a dense bread.

brokenbar, thanks so much! Used up all the Romas with your sun dried recipe and can't stop eating them. Just might consider drying the Brandywine and cherry varieties too. Thanks again.

Jennifer

I'm addicted. I've run two batches of paste tomatoes. And good tomatoes make a difference in the outcome.

I've got two plants (a cherokee purple and a Paul Robeson) that are loaded with fruit that are threatening to ripen all at the same time. (I'm not sure what the record is for slowest ripening once fruit is set, but these two plants are surely in the running) I'll try some of those next.

Mary

Any variety will work. Non paste types have more seeds and more water however, I would imagine that there are several varieties that have GREAT flavor. Cherokee Chocolate and Brandywine may be two of them because I know folks wax poetic about their flavor. If any of you just do a Google search for "Sun dried tomato recipes" scads come up. Some use them in ways I would never have thought of. I am so happy everyone has enjoyed my recipe. I always forget to mention that Sun-dried tomatoes provide a very concentrated form of lycopene, and those that are in olive oil enable the lycopene to be easily absorbed.

Hello Brokenbar,
Thank you for this great information. This is the first year I grew paste tomatoes and I LOVE all the things you can do with them.
You mentioned a tomato I have not hear of - Russo Sicilian Togeta. Could you let me know the source for these seeds? I would love to try them next year.
Thanks a bunch!

I emailed Gladis but Gary Ibsen has these seeds:
http://store.tomatofest.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TF-0437

I don't know if this is a stupid question, but here goes anyway. I am going to have lots of green opalka tomatoes. Is it possible to sun dry green tomatoes? Last month's weather was so bad I don't know how many of my tomatoes will ripen.

Question. Do you slice the tomatoes from top [stem end] to bottom or crosswise across the seed locules? And what about removing the seeds? Thanks! for the thread.

Eileen, all you have to do is pick all your green ones, bring them in the house and they will all ripen/turn red. You can also pull the whole plant out of the ground and hang it in a garage or barn and they will all continue to ripen. To encourage ripening on the vine outside, discontinue watering. I don't know if you could dry green ones (can't see why not) but they sure would be bitter and I don't know what you would use them for. You could use fresh green ones for salsa verde or fried green tomatoes.

Earl, smaller types I slice length wise. Bigger types, stem end down to bottom. I grow only paste types so few seeds, which I remove most of. If you are using tom's with a lot of seeds, you should probably remove them as they get pretty bitter. And I know seeding tomatoes (other than in a squeezo or something) is a huge pain-in-the-butt!

Cutting slices that are the same thickness is important because then your slices will dry at a similar rate of speed and you don't have to keep picking through the trays on the dehydrator taking out the ones that dried the quickest. Also, I have a commercial dehydrator so mine has 1/2" metal squares. I spray the trays with pam to avoid sticking. Most home dehydrators have teflon trays but if not, the Pam works really well.

brokenbar
thanks for such an informative post just when I needed it. we in Florida are just starting our tomato season.

of course now I desire those chinese seeds you speak so highly of. I went to ibsen's page but they have a $15 miniumum order so that will remain an unfulfilled desire :-)

Denise

Bumping this so people can order more paste tomatoes for drying :)

Sounds like a very cool business brokenbar. Those recipes sound darn good as well. If I can rustle up some good tomatoes from my father-in-law I may just try drying some just to see what happens. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Denise, Marriana's Heirloom seeds has them and she has no minimum. I'd share but I got wiped out last time I posted.

If anyone wants to email me I can give you a web address that has lots of tomato recipes. Garden Forum prefers I do not post the website in my message.

brokenbar,

I've tried emailing you, but I keep getting a spam message back about winning the UK lottery? Apparently, something is up with your email, you may have a virus.

Thanks for sharing all your secrets!

Loved reading this thread this morning!
Thanks for all of the info :)

Andrea