[LittleRedHen]

I've oven-dried the last of our tomatoes - so does anyone know how to store them?  I've put some in olive oil in a jar.  Can I freeze them?  They smell heavenly!

[mumofstig]

If they are really dry you can store them in polybags, or just in clean jars (you don't have to seal them like jam).....they last for ages as they are, no need to freeze

[sclarke624]

What do you use dried toms for as I havent tried this yet.

[aelf]

we did some and they are delish! We stored them in olive oil with a couple of garlic cloves. They are lovely sliced and added to pizza toppings, or diced and added to bolognaise

[Faz]

I just kept most of mine in a screw top jar last year, but some I kept in olive oil in the fridge.

Both ways kept really well.

[LittleRedHen]

They are lovely on pasta with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil or even a cream sauce.  They have an entirely different flavour when dried.  I dried mine with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of garlic powder, basil and oregano.  The house smelled like a pizzeria when they were drying!

[scabs]

Hi Lesley, sounds delicious.

Do you mind me asking the process? How long, what temp etc? as I have never dome this before but think I'll give it a do with the last of my crop.

Many thanks,
Andrew

[sclarke624]

I've heard they have a more intense flavour.

[Faz]

I did mine in a fan assisted electric oven at a low temperature, I think about 80 deg C or maybe a little bit cooler, with the door cracked open a tiny bit to let the moisture out. They did take ages (I mean hours and hours!) so there is probably a quicker way to do it!

[arugula]

Is there or can there be garlic, herbs or olive oil used/added at the drying stage?

Lorna. 

[scabs]

Maybe add them to the toms in olive oil in a jar, post drying?

[arugula]

Friends used to oven-dry toms and I believe they did add "things" at the drying stage, but I never got the recipe from the horses mouth, so....

[mumofstig]

My experience of dried tomatoes was from greece where we dried them on boards in the sun. You have to add plenty of salt to help with the preserving, but once fully dry (like soft leather ) they would last all winter (If i didn't eat them before that.) They were added to sauces, and casseroles, anything where the liquid in the recipe would rehydrate them. Lovely chopped up and used in bread making

The ones we get in the UK seem to be only semi dried I think that's why they are stored in oil, so that they keep for a bit longer than they would otherewise. But they are deffinately less chewy on top of your pizza 

So how much you dry them depends on how long you wish to keep them

[LittleRedHen]

Okay!  Take a baking sheet and cover it with baker's paper.  Cut the tomatoes in half and place the cut side up on the sheet of paper.  Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle the tomatoes with basil and oregano and garlic powder or minced garlic.  Set a fan assisted (or regular) oven at 100 degrees Centigrade.  Bake them for an hour and then turn the oven off and leave them.  Because I have two ovens, one on top of the other, I would just move the tomato tray to the oven that wasn't being used when baking.  About two days later, I dried them again at 100 degrees and then they were ready.  Don't let them get dark!  Yum! 

[arugula]

Thank You LittleRedHen, sounds lovely!

Lorna.