Preserving dried tomatoes

13 years ago

I have been slow-oven-roasting a lot of tomatoes, having grown tired of canning them, the sauce, and the juice, and they still are coming on! Found them absolutely delicious when cooked down with herbs and seasonings to almost the point of tomato paste and so have frozen packs of them for winter. Then, the batch I did the other day, I decided to dry further in my dehydrator (even more space-saving). So I layered them in the dryer for a few hours and they were perfect for me: not crispy but like tough leather (and flavor!--way more than leather!! LOL!).

(The photo is how they looked just out of the oven, before finished drying in dehydrator.)

My quandary: I did not weigh the fruit before starting to dry them, so cannot compare before & after weights to decide what percentage of moisture remains (as a belatedly-read paragraph in the instruction book advised checking ). So now I wonder about the safest way to store them.
Here are my options, as I see it:
1. In a canning jar, vacuum sealed (with my Foodsaver attachment) and on a pantry shelf in the basement
2. Vacuum-sealed in a Foodsaver bag on a pantry shelf
3. Either of the above but in the freezer

Bottom line: must I freeze them to be sure of safety(thinking botulism in a room-temp vacuum)?
Thanks for your help!!

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Comments (7)

nancyofnc
13 years ago
Those don't look quite dry enough to me, so keeping them in the freezer is the option I'd choose. With any fruit or vegetable that you dehydrate, it is a good idea to put them in the freezer for 48 hours anyway in order to kill any miniscule bug eggs that might/will survive the drying process.
Nancy
digdirt2
13 years ago
Agree. Those are still far too moist for shelf storage, even if vacuum packed. They will mold. Freezer storage is the best option at that stage.

Pull up all the 'brokenbar' discussions on drying, using and storing dried tomatoes. If acidified in wine up front not only is the flavor improved but so is the shelf life.

Dave
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skeip
13 years ago
OK, and not to hijack this thread, I have a recipe which at the point in the picture you remove the skins as best you can, pack them in pints, and BWB for 25 minutes. Is that even an option?

Steve
ryseryse_2004
13 years ago
The OP stated that the picture was taken BEFORE she put them in the dehydrator. Still, I always just put mine in quart zip locks and freeze them. Then they can be used a little at a time. They take very little space.
weedlady
Original Author
13 years ago
RyseRyse gets the gold star for noting what I said about the photo! :-)
So here is a new photo; dunno that they look all that different in the picture, but the slices definitely are dry & stiff enough to totally hold their shape and if I could balance one up on end, it would stay vertical!
I probably will end up freezing them, but with most of the harvest in, I have more shelf than freezer space so figured if I could save even a bit, that would be good.

Thanks for the prompt feedback everyone!
david52 Zone 6
13 years ago
I'd go for freezer storage as its the safest. I do that with all my dried tomatoes, more as a precaution as anything. Although this year, with 20+ gallon ziplocks of dried tomatoes, I may need to rethink this.....

As an aside, the oven-roasted tomatoes at the stage of your photo can be food-processed with garlic, dried oregano, paprika, olive oil, and what ever you wish - we add a bit of dried parmesan - and then frozen in pint jars for a pizza sauce. Its wonderful stuff - the tomatoes at that stage have such a great flavor.
weedlady
Original Author
13 years ago
David52, while not really visible in either photo, the tomatoes are well-seasoned. Before roasting, I drizzle a very light layer of EVOO in the pans and once the 'maters are layered in, sprinkle the lot with a dried herb/garlic mixture, sea salt, & freshly ground pepper. Will add Parmesan upon utilizing the tomatoes in whatever.

I can eat the dried slices like candy!