For years I’ve been dreaming of the perfect cherry tomato garden. YEARS! I have long wanted cherry tomatoes in every color so that I can have bowls of a beautiful rainbow to have and to share. Well, this is the year I succeeded on that front, and my tune has changed a bit from “Oh, look at the tomatoey rainbow” to “What the heck was I thinking!?” I have so many more than we can consume, even if we ate tomatoes at every meal. I keep giving them away, and still, the bowl is never-ending. 16 plants devoted to bite sized tomatoes may be a few too many.
I thought briefly about investing in a food dehydrator. One of those kitchen tools that we bought but never used, so sold it in a rummage sale for two dollars many years ago. That was before I discovered vegetable gardening, of course. But since the one I really want is rather pricey, and I’m still not completely convinced that I’ll use it all that much, I thought I’d try drying some cherry tomatoes in the oven.
Have you ever purchased sun-dried tomatoes? While they aren’t the most expensive item in the grocery store, they are on the pricey side for a tiny little bottle of dried tomatoes. But they add the most spectacular flavor to whatever you use them in. Pasta, pizza, sandwiches, dips, you name it, you can add some dried tomato goodness to it. The trick to drying them correctly is getting them at the right temperature, and then keeping an eye on them once they really start to dry. I did one batch of tomatoes at 200 degrees, and that literally took all day to do. The second batch I did at 220, and while that was faster, the dryness of the tomatoes was inconsistent. Some were getting to the crispy stage while some were still rather moist on the interior. What I am looking for is more of a dry/chewy texture- like a raisin. I have found that 210 degrees seems to be perfect.
So I start with the tomatoes. Use ones that are roughly the same size, as they will dry the most evenly. Cut them all in half, and spread them out on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil. Spread them so the cut side is facing up/ Then give them a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. You can also add some herbs if you want your tomatoes flavored, but I am choosing to avoid the herbs and just go for a pure tomato flavor. I’ve seen some people add a drizzle of oil, but I don’t really think that is necessary if you’re drying them for storage purposes.
Pop the pans into your pre-heated oven and let it do its thing. This is still going to take a while. I start checking the pans at the two hour mark, and since I have two pans in the oven, I rotate them then. After that, check them every 30 minutes until they are the dryness you desire. Mine are done around the 4 hour mark.
For storage, I am storing mine in pint mason jars in the freezer. Because I left some moisture in to get the chewy texture, I feel they are probably going to keep the longest in the freezer. Then I can just scoop out what I need at the time and put the rest back in the freezer. My long-term plan is to keep a small half-pint jar in the fridge, ready to use at all times. That one I will put the tomatoes in and then cover with a good quality olive oil so the oil will also be flavored.
I am already thinking of the sun dried tomato pesto I will be making this winter. It’s making me smile every time I bring in another massive bowl of cherry tomatoes. This will be totally worth the effort.
However, next year, I will definitely be planting a few less cherry tomato plants.