A dehydrating experience

Last year I bought a dehydrator at an Estate Sale for $10. It had never been used, included 7 drying trays and even had the original user's guide and sale receipt inside. Needless to say I was very happy to finally get my dehydrator! But we were still under construction and I was able to use it until now!!

When I was at my Mom's a few weeks ago, we ran into a sale on Compari Tomatoes. A sweet little devil of a tomato and we just love them so I bought a quart. Upon returning home I found that Sam's Club had Compari's in a huge 3 lb. container for a very good price. So we were swimming in Compari Tomatoes and I knew it was time to finally test the dehydrator.







I decided to use my favorite Tomato Drying recipe for my dehydrator test drive and it worked out perfectly and I was very happy with the results. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the final product. I put the tasty slices in a dish on my kitchen island and within a few hours all were gone. Everyone passing through my kitchen was eating them like candy and of course you can't stop with just one!

You can still oven dry the tomatoes which turn out very well. But it does take some time and having my oven on for 4-5 hours, even though it's a low temperature, I can just imagine the electric meter spinning around and around and around!! The dehydrator takes longer but far less energy and the tomatoes are the same....delicious!







Oven Dried Tomatoes

In large bowl combine:

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar (I use 18 year Balsamic)
1 Tsp. Lemon juice

1. Leave skin on and cut tomatoes into slices about 1/8" thick.
2. Remove seeds.
3. Place tomatoes in the mixture and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
4. Set oven on 200 degrees.
5. Take tomatoes out of mixture and spread on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. It's fine if the tomatoes touch.
6. Oven takes about 2-3 hours to dry set at 200 degrees. Size of pieces will determine time.

The Oven Dried Tomatoes freeze beautifully. They are especially wonderful in pasta dishes, salads or just as a snack.


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog