Adventures with Tomatoes

by Sherri Koehler on October 1, 2010

Once again we managed to be busy, busy, BUSY during the peak of tomato season. This means several pounds have sadly gone to mush on the vine, but earlier this week I went out and picked pounds and pounds. I’ve been hearing all about people drying them in the oven (“sun dried” for Portland) and thought I’d give it a whirl.


Several of the “Roman Candle” paste-type tomatoes sliced into quarter wedges (the long yellow ones) along with the larger cherry types and some small plum types.



A whole roasting pan full of cherry and grape type tomatoes cut in half and put face down.






Hours and hours and HOURS later:
Yield = 3 cups of dried tomatoes

The verdict: The oven is very inefficient for dehydrating food. We’ve pondered an Excalibur model and this experiment has moved it up in priority.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

capnleela October 11, 2010 at 12:32 am

The rows and rows of cut halves and quarters look gorgeous! Did the flavor hold up well with the oven drying? I’ve never been so uniform with mine, so had uneven pieces — parts still wet on one end and nearly burnt on the other — so inconsistent flavor. Thanks!

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sherri October 11, 2010 at 8:53 pm

Thank you! I also loved the way all the prepped tomatoes looked. The flavor came out very nicely, I am really pleased. I did have some that weren’t as dry when all the cherry tomato halves were finished. Those few I put back on the sheet for a few more hours. I also turned the sheet and baking dishes a couple of times. I do think a dedicated dehydrator will be far more effective.

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