How do you prepare the tomatoes for the dehydrator? I normally can or freeze mine, but it's way too hot for canning today and I need to defrost my freezer this weekend. I've been having an issue with the door being left slightly ajar of occassion and really don't want to put anything else in until after I defrost it.
However, I have 20 pounds of tomatoes I need to do something with, and quickly. Any tips you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
I have the same issues w/freezer and crops!!
I simply cut the tomatoes in 4ths or 8ths, depending on size, slit the skin side just a bit for the length of the piece, layer them in the dehydrator and let them go. I can get 5-6 tomatoes per tray and I have 5 trays. Mine is the cheaper version that doesn’t rotate on its own, so when I think about it, I give the trays a quarter turn. I also will turn the pieces over every once in a while and take the driest ones and place them in a higher position while placing the ones that need more drying on the bottom, when I think about it. After about 24+ hours, they will be dried, but still moist and since I am afraid they will mold, I then put them in the oven on a foil lined tray at 170 for several hours. I usually recharge any of the silica gel pacs I have saved over the years from medications and vitamins, etc at the same time....just put them in the 170 degree oven for 2 hours in a small bowl and then, after the tomatoes are dried hard and cooled, I bag them w/the gel pacs.
I have made some tomato powder, but the tomatoes have to be very, very dry and the food processor blade needs to be really sharp. I have decided to just dry them hard for now and when the weather is arid this winter, I will use a small dedicated processor to grind them to powder. Then, all I will have to do is add the tomato powder to whatever I am cooking or to water (up to 50%/50%) to either take the flavor up a notch or make tomato sauce. I am growing basil in an indoor hydroponic unit right now and I think I will add that to some dried tomatoes and cover with olive oil later, when the harvest lets up somewhat.
I did a quick and dirty sauce yesterday: I just processed the entire tomato, skin, seeds and all, and then left it to simmer all day...maybe abour 6-7 hrs. That took a gallon down to 5 cups and I will have to reduce it further when I use it.
Takes up too much freezer room right now, too. I have some huge tomatoes that are still green and I expect I will have to wrap some of those and store them in a cooler for a week or so just before frost...it has been a great tomato year, here, even on my North-facing farm way down in a valley. I had 17 plants, plus about 20 volunteer cherry tomato plants from seeds the birds *planted* for me from last year and I have been drying and we have been eating them for about a month, already. My 59-day plants had ripe fruit at 55 days....a first here, where I am usually 2 weeks behind the ridge farmers.
Now, I have to figure out if we are just going to eat the sweet corn til it turns to starch or if I will try and freeze some. I haven’t decided. I have to get another chest freezer by deer season and I just do not have the room right now for frozen corn. Maybe next year.