Sun-dried tomatoes - a delicious and not cheap product. But, if you are concerned about the production of your own tomato blanks in the midst of the season, then this stock will not require significant cash costs, and the taste of home-dried tomato can even surpass the store counterparts.
Pick your recipe
You will need
-
- Tomatoes
- sea salt (at the rate of 1 cup per 5 kg of tomatoes);
- dry herbs to your taste;
- baking paper;
- screen or pallet with gauze.
Instruction manual
1
Small tomatoes of such varieties as cherry and ladies fingers are best suited for your purposes. Choose elastic ripe, but not juicy fruits. The juicier the tomato, the longer it will dry.
2
You can dry the tomatoes in the skin, or you can without it. Many people prefer to remove the skin from fresh tomatoes, and when dried, it becomes even tougher. But this is a matter of taste. If you decide to free the tomatoes from the peel, prepare a large pot of boiling water and a bowl of cold water and ice. Dip the fruits for 50-60 seconds, first in boiling water, and then dip in an ice bath. After such an operation, the peel from the tomatoes will be removed almost effortlessly.
3
Cut the prepared tomatoes in half or in quarters - it depends on the size of the fruit. Remove the flesh near the stem, large tomatoes free of seeds.
4
If you are going to dry tomatoes in the sun, prepare either a special screen or a plastic low tray that can be covered with gauze. Place the tomato slices a short distance from each other in one layer, sprinkle with salt and dry herbs. Cover with gauze or lower the screen. It is best to place a container of tomatoes higher off the ground. A car sun-warmed roof is ideal. Make sure that the wind does not overturn your workpieces.
5
Keep the tomatoes indoors for the night to protect them from temperature drops and dew. Tomatoes will dry for several days. Ready-made dried tomatoes are flexible, dark red in color, dry but not crispy, similar to dried fruits.
6
You can dry the tomatoes in the oven. To do this, place the prepared tomatoes on a baking sheet with cook paper and put it in an oven heated to 50-60 ° C. Make sure that the oven door is not locked tightly. Tomatoes will be ready in 8-12 hours.
note
Note that out of 10 standard cherry tomatoes, you get only 10 grams of sun-dried tomato.
Useful advice
Sun-dried tomatoes can be stored in an airtight container or zip bag in the freezer for 6-12 months. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil should be rolled up or stored open for no more than two weeks.
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