Dehydrating Tomatoes
Drying tomatoes at home is a simple way to preserve tomatoes for pantry storage. Add dehydrated tomatoes to pizza, sandwiches, soups, sauces, chili and more!
Ingredients
- 14 pounds of tomatoes to yield 1/2 pound dried
Instructions
- Wash tomatoes and remove stems.
- If desired, skin tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water, then in cold water. Skins should immediately slip off. (Optional)
- Cut larger tomatoes into slices ¼ inch thick. Grape and cherry tomatoes should be halved. Less acidic tomatoes can be pureed with lemon juice or vinegar (1 tbsp per quart).
- Place tomato slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays. If dehydrating tomato puree, line trays with parchment paper or silicone dehydrator sheets before pouring out the mixture.
- (Dehydrator) Set dehydrator to 145°F and dehydrate for 5 to 9 hours adjusting for humidity, moisture content, and tomato size.
- (Oven) Set oven as close to 145°F as it will allow. Dehydrate tomatoes until they are brittle and leathery. Time will vary based on tomato size and oven temp. Tomatoes dried at 250°F will take 2 to 3 hours; those dried between 140°F and 170°F can take 5 to 8 hours or longer.
Notes
Allow tomatoes to cool completely before moving them to an airtight container for storage (jars and vacuum sealing are two preferred storage options). Keep in a cool, dry, and dark location.
Conditioning
To be entirely sure your tomatoes are dry enough, you may wish to condition them. To condition tomatoes, fill an airtight container loosely with your dried tomatoes. For 7 to 10 days, shake or stir the continents of the container once a day. If you see moisture appear, like beading or condensation, you must dehydrate tomatoes longer and repeat the conditioning process once more. Seeing no moisture after 10 days? Your dried tomatoes are good to go for long-term storage.Yield
14 pounds of fresh tomatoes will weigh just half a pound once dry. This should fill between 2-½ to 3 pint jars.Dehydrating Time
Current humidity levels can affect drying time. Refer to this chart for tomatoes when adjusting drying time for ambient humidity:- 10 to 30% Humidity: 5 Hours
- 31 to 50% Humidity: 6 Hours
- 51 to 70% Humidity: 7 Hours
- 71 to 80% Humidity: 8 Hours
- Above 80% Humidity: 9 Hours