Do you love sun-dried like I do, but not the price? I am a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes and I decided to make them at home. I experimented with cherry tomatoes and pear shaped tomatoes, homemade are by far absolutely wonderful.

DIY Sun Dried Tomatoes 

The process typically takes about 4-10 days to dry in the sun. If you have the time to do that by all means go right ahead. Between a full time job and the farm I don’t have an abundance of time. Thus I must use the spare time I have wisely. There is a faster way to have sun dried tomatoes, using an oven or a dehydrator.

Tomatoes were originally salted and dried to preserve the fruit.  Salting and evaporating the moisture out of tomatoes significantly delays the process of decomposition. By drying ripe tomatoes, these foods could be enjoyed and provide valuable nutrition in the winter when it is difficult or impossible to grow fresh produce. The true origin of sun-dried tomatoes is unclear, but it is known that the Aztecs began salting and sun-drying their tomatoes in order to preserve their freshness around the year 700 AD.

Italians originally dried their tomatoes on their ceramic roof-tops in the summer sun.

After the procedure, the tomato fruits will keep their nutritional value. The tomatoes are high in lycopene, antioxidants, and vitamin C.

Sun-dried tomatoes can be used in a wide variety of recipes and come in a variety of shapes, colors, and tomatoes. Traditionally, they were made from dried red plum tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes are also available in the form of pastes or purées.

I’ve experimented with both drying processes, the dehydrator, and the oven. The results for both techniques is that they came out gorgeous, much redder and with deeper flavor than any I’ve bought in the store.  You can add herbs like rosemary, garlic, and thyme for additional flavor.

Before you start, I should warn you that you’ll need to plan to do these when you’re not in a hurry to go anywhere. My first pan of cherry tomatoes took roughly around 2-2 1/2 hours in the oven and the larger tomatoes can take up to 5 or 6 hours in the dehydrator. You’ll need to pre-heat your oven to 200º and slow dry them until they’re chewy and leathery, like a raisin. Which is the perfect recipe because you can actually forget about the oven for two whole hours and nothing will burn!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

oxoxoxo