Tomato powder

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Shule
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Tomato powder

#1

Post: # 28471Unread post Shule
Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:35 pm

So, I got a food dehydrator specifically to dehydrate tomatoes (although we've used it more for other things, so far), and when I got down to tasting them, I decided that was a lot of chewing, and maybe not the best thing for my teeth and jaws to be eating regularly in decent amounts, considering the acidity of them. So … I decided to make tomato powder! I figure I can use it to add a sharp flavor, as with salt. I aim to have gallons of the stuff soon.

Anyway, all you have to do to make tomato powder is fully dehydrate tomato slices (probably ideally thinner slices) and blend them up in a blender. I added some PermaGuard food grade diatomaceous earth afterward as an anti-caking agent, and to help it be more free-flowing (it helped for that). It should help to keep it dry, too.

I haven't used it, yet, but I'm excited to try it. Now I want to powder everything: e.g. Blackberries, wonderberries, carrots, greens, etc. I had already been powdering peppers. (Warning: Do not add diatomaceous earth to hot pepper powder! You, and everyone else nearby, will probably instantly regret it.)

Here's a picture of it before I added the food grade diatomaceous earth:
IMG_20200817_140903.jpg
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Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#2

Post: # 28472Unread post Shule
Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:45 pm

Hmm. I just ate a spoonful, and it's actually delicious. I like it just as much as before it was powder, if not more. Apparently, I must have dehydrated some super sweet tomatoes, because the overall powder is very sweet. That might be Carbon. It should work well for my intended purpose, though.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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KathyDC
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Re: Tomato powder

#3

Post: # 28473Unread post KathyDC
Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:55 pm

Intriguing! I have some seasoning powder that's "Ketchup" flavor, I wonder if it's comparable in taste? (It's for people eating low carb, so they can incorporate the flavor of ketchup without actually using it, less sugar.)

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#4

Post: # 28476Unread post Shule
Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:12 pm

It doesn't taste like ketchup to me. It reminds me a lot of dehydrated tomatoes in flavor, but the first spoonful seemed to have some of the umami flavor of BBQ potato chip seasoning, to my tongue. It is good, though, and has a lot of flavor. :) Mostly, though, it tastes like tomatoes. I would probably try sprinkling it on eggs first. Maybe popcorn if it's not too coarse for that. It would probably be good on things that ketchup is good on. Maybe I'd sprinkle it on sandwiches, salads, in meat dishes, etc.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#5

Post: # 28638Unread post Shule
Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:58 am

Well, I've discovered two things:

* It takes a lot more of the tomato powder than I imagined to use it as something like a salt substitute on eggs, but it does work well if I add a sufficient amount! It adds a lot more umami flavor than I suspected it would, too (and this was without cheese). I did taste flavors that I felt would be good on hamburgers, too. It did not taste simply like eggs with tomatoes. It was quite a bit different (but it's a really good seasoning on scrambled eggs; I put the eggs in a flour tortilla, FYI). I actually had fresh tomato chunks in the eggs, too, but I tasted portions that didn't have the chunks, but that did have the tomato powder.
* Even with the food grade diatomaceous earth, the tomato powder still solidifies pretty quickly—but if I stick a chopstick through it in a few points and stir with the chopstick, it's back to powder form without chunks stuck together. I'm not sure what it's like without the food grade diatomaceous earth.

Note that my tomatoes that I powdered were dehydrated on 167° F. for about 5 hours, and 145° F. the rest of the time (I wanted to do it quickly, bring out the lycopene, and add some of the cooked tomato flavor). The powder might taste different if you dehydrate at a lower temperature like 130° F. like many like to do, and may have different uses.

FYI, here are the pictures of the tomatoes before I dehydrated them, and afterward (before blending them up in the blender). This was enough tomatoes to make just over a half a quart of powder, and enough to fill six 13" x 15" dehydrator trays (stainless steel trays lined with silicone mesh sheets).
IMG_20200731_181538.jpg
IMG_20200801_172317.jpg
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Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#6

Post: # 32912Unread post Shule
Sat Oct 24, 2020 4:56 pm

I've been searching for more uses for tomato powder. I came to find that it doesn't taste good in sour cream. It does, however, seem to taste good added to macaroni and cheese after it's finished. The macaroni I tried it in had butter, evaporated milk, and sea salt added instead of the usual milk and butter. I probably added about a spoonful of tomato powder (maybe a bit more).
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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Rockoe10
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Re: Tomato powder

#7

Post: # 32916Unread post Rockoe10
Sat Oct 24, 2020 6:11 pm

This is very cool. I will be trying this next summer for sure
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Clkeiper
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Re: Tomato powder

#8

Post: # 32939Unread post Clkeiper
Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:05 am

cool. I have a bowl full of dried tomatoes sitting here. I just keep eating them a slice at a time. I just bought some food grade DE so... got a new project in mind now. thanks. this is one of the things I would like to try with a freeze dry dehydrator... I think I will bite the bullet next year unless I find a used one I can purchase between now and then... I am thinking stuff like this would be a great addition to any pantry. as expensive as they are I will need to plan on selling some of it to help with the cost of it. they are about $3500.00. the texture is so different.

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#9

Post: # 33092Unread post Shule
Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:48 pm

I tried making carrot powder, recently, too. It tastes better than the dried carrots before they're powder—but you can't just mix it with water to get carrot juice! :) Carrots dehydrate pretty easily. I plan to do horseradish and sunchoke powder soon.

Leaf powder is even easier to make than fruit and root powder. I tried dehydrating epazote leaves, and I really liked the process; it was really easy. I'm thinking about dehydrating and powdering greens (e.g. collards, kohlrabi, cabbage, spinach, etc.) and edible weed leaves (e.g. amaranth, mallow, lambsquarter, dandelions, shepherd's purse, etc.) and see if they taste good mixed into anything. I wish I had made squash leaf powder. I could have made so much of that, this year!
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

FarmerShawn
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Re: Tomato powder

#10

Post: # 33397Unread post FarmerShawn
Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:37 am

If you can find some leeks to dry and powder, then try this: a block of cream cheese (room temp), a quarter to half a cup of sour cream (to loosen it up a bit; this is optional), and a tablespoon (or a bit less) of each of the leek and tomato powders. Add salt to taste or, not, mix them up thoroughly, wait a couple of hours to rehydrate the powders, and you've got a dip to die for. Chips, veggie sticks, spread on toast or crackers, whatever. This is a fantastic holiday treat. Dried onion or shallot powder might work as well if you don't have leeks, but I do grow leeks, too many of them, and have never wanted to try anything else.
Also, I use tomato powder as a substitute for tomato paste anytime. It thickens and adds flavor just the same.

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Shule
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Re: Tomato powder

#11

Post: # 33458Unread post Shule
Tue Nov 03, 2020 3:53 am

Thanks for the recipe!

I don't have leeks, but I do have plenty of green onions that I plan to powder next spring. I've found that low fat cream cheese (not the fat-free) tastes pretty similar to the regular, but is a lot softer. I wonder if that might work without sour cream (although I believe you that it tastes good with the sour cream, even though I didn't like plain sour cream with the powder; I think the cream cheese and leeks would change the dynamics a lot; I'm wondering in case I'm out of sour cream at the time).
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

FarmerShawn
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Re: Tomato powder

#12

Post: # 33468Unread post FarmerShawn
Tue Nov 03, 2020 8:02 am

I have successfully made it without the sour cream. It's just more of a spread than a dip. But still tastes wonderful. I expect you could easily make it with store bought onion powder; I just haven't had the need to try.

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Re: Tomato powder

#13

Post: # 33508Unread post HL2601
Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:51 pm

I made three jars of tomato powder this year and my favorite use is to add into soups. I don't add as it cooks but add as a shake after, It looks pretty if there is cheese melted on top then you shake. I have also used it with making croutons. Brush olive oil on then shake shake shake. It is interesting and the color is pretty too.

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Re: Tomato powder

#14

Post: # 33528Unread post FarmerShawn
Wed Nov 04, 2020 6:53 am

Oh, by the way, the leek-tomato dip becomes much more interesting with a bit of hot pepper powder added in...

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