Dried tomato's

[Toepopper]

I would like to know if anyone has ever tried to dehydrate tomato's. Don't recolect ever seeing any before and was wondering if this is possible to do with such a wet fruit.

[Watchman]

I've dried them. They have to be dried to the consistency of "fruit leathers". After dehydrating the "proper" thing to do is to pasteurize them on a cookie sheet in the oven - 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Some people don't do that but we do to lessen the possibility of mold. You can then pack them in a jar and pour olive oil in - thats how we like them. Cover them good and get out the air bubbles. It is also possible to put in a teaspoon or so of dried basil and a clove of garlic. Submerged in olive oil they make a dandy addition to a salad.

An alternative way is to dry them so they are hard and crumble easily. Same pasteurization recommendation. Store them in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Throw them in a stew or soup about 15 minutes before finishing. If they're big slices we usually cut them in quarters or halves.