We are starting to get creative around here as to what to do with the hoards of tomatoes.  Last week I canned 5 quarts of salsa, gave away 5 bags and dried about 2 pounds.  I am doing my best to not let anything go to waste.

Since I have a wide variety of types of tomatoes (and none are dedicated “sauce” tomatoes) I thought I would give drying a try.  I was lucky enough to receive a food dehydrator from mom a few years ago that comes in handy ever now and again.  I pull it out during apple season to make chewy apple chips or banana crisps.  I pulled it out a few weeks ago to dry some peppers that were on the verge of going bad.

I did some looking on the internet to make sure that using a food dehydrator for tomatoes would actually work, and sure enough there was plenty of information.  In addition I recently purchased “Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest” by Carla Emery & Lorene Edwards Forker at the suggestion of Willi at Diggin Food.  The writers of the book had a great idea on preserving dehydrated tomatoes.  It doesn’t even require boiling giant pots of water.

My version is slightly different than the book, but this was a trial run.

Clean all of your tomatoes.  Spray the racks of the dehydrator with cooking spray (if you don’t oil the racks you will say bad words later, learned this with apples and bananas).  Slice tomatoes in 1/4″ slices and remove the white core part.  Place on dehydrator racks without the tomatoes touching.  Turn on dehydrator and let go for what seems like eternity (mine went all afternoon and night).  1/2 way through the drying swap the racks.  Put the top ones on the bottom and the bottom ones on the top.  The tomatoes are done when they feel like leather and are still pliable.  Some of mine were a little crispy.  Turn off the dehydrator and let them cool.  Once the slices are cool put them in a bowl and toss them with a little plain white vinegar.  Take them out of the vinegar and pat them dry with paper towels.  Allow them to dry completely.  Place them in sterile jars and cover with olive oil (I happen to use grapeseed oil since I’m quite allergic to olive oil).  Place a lid on and keep them in a cool dark place.  Apparently you can keep them for up to a few months.  Refrigerate after opening.  So simple!  They look pretty to boot.