Can any of you relate?

[Shule]

You know when it's been a long time since you had a fresh garden tomato and suddenly you realize you dehydrated a bunch of them last year? Well, I'm at that point now, and they're much more addictive this time of year. Much more potent flavor than the grocery store tomatoes, and actually quite sweet.

I'm super hungry for some reason and all the fresh fruit we have is pears (nothing against pears, but I already had some earlier today). The tomatoes revived me.

[Rockoe10]

Curious, how do you rehydrate them? Or do you eat them as is?

[Amateurinawe]

sometimes i crave for the taste of sundried tomatoes for the intense tomato kick.

[bower]

I didn't have a successful drying experiment, so mine are in the freezer.
I do get that surprise though, when you forgot about them and then go to make something, realize you need tomatoes and, yes I have some! And they are great. They add sweetness to every dish, but especially nice for making pizza now and then.

[HenriSportif]

I've been going through them like crazy, these past weeks! Sometimes with hummus and a rice cake, sometimes with grilled artichoke hearts, and in every salad! I can totally relate

[mention]Rockoe10[/mention] Just as they are, not rehydrated: they're so intense and sweet. Dried and in freezer bags, and also dried and jarred in oil and balsamic. Both delicious!

[Shule]

[mention]Rockoe10[/mention]
I've just been eating them as is. They taste kind of like extra-tangy prunes.

I'm surprised (and glad that) I can eat so many of them; I could only manage to eat a few a day last year (without it hurting my teeth), but between today and yesterday, I think I ate half a batch.

You know how tuna sandwiches with tomatoes in them tend to get soggy if they hang around very long? I'm thinking about putting some dehydrated tomatoes on tuna sandwiches and refrigerating them for a while to see how they turn out.

[peebee]

[mention]Shule[/mention] did you dry them out in the sun or in the oven? How long?
If I have a huge surplus if tomatoes this year I'd like to try that rather than freezing them. I can dream of a surplus, right?

[Shule]

[mention]peebee[/mention]
I dehydrated them in one of these, which I purchased last summer for $158.99 (although they were less expensive than that around Christmas):


I don't remember how long I dehydrated them, but since I did it at the highest temperature, it didn't take as long as it could have. I think most people do them at a cooler temperature for a flavor more like that of fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes don't take as long to dehydrate as some things, unless you're trying to do whole cherry tomatoes or something (in that case, they take longer than most things--but I think it's worth it). If you do whole cherry tomatoes, be sure to puncture them with some holes to make it go faster and so they end up more like raisins in texture (it's tedious, though; so, be warned). Our dehydrated whole cherry tomatoes last year tasted a lot like dehydrated golden berries; I was kind of surprised about that.

I thought the big tomatoes were the easiest to dehydrate. It doesn't take many to fill a tray, and there isn't as much skin to slow the dehydration process; so, they dry a lot faster.

Most people seem to prefer Excalibur dehydrators, but I was on a budget and wanted to get other stuff, too; so, I got the one I did and a warranty. My only real lament about it is I'm unaware of the composition of the stainless steel / chrome, due to one of those California Proposition warnings I saw on the extra trays (if you buy them separately), but the silicone mesh mats seem to work fine over them (and make removing the food from the dehydrator a lot easier). Otherwise, it's been an excellent dehydrator; I like the glass window on it, the timer/temperature settings, how big the trays are, etc.

Oh, and clean/dry the silicone mats (if you buy them) carefully. Don't use anything with fragrance, or they might smell like that forever, and spread the smell to your food.

[Labradors]

I love my Excalibur dehydrator and dry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and apple in it every year. (I think peppers are best frozen so I don't dehydrate them). I even tried dehydrating liver to make my own dog treats!

The Excalibur is expensive though . Before I bought it, I found one of those cheap round ones at a yard sale, and tried using that, just to see how it worked and whether I would really use such a thing. It was incredibly slow, so I decided to splurge .

Linda