Squirreling It Away
Five days from the official start of autumn; I’d say it’s time to start squirreling away some of those summer crops to preserve warm-weather flavors that will brighten cold-weather dishes. Putting up all types of preserves for the winter is a long-standing tradition in my family. I have vivid memories of shelling dishpan after dishpan of lima beans and boiling pot after pot of beets to be canned and put in the cellar cabinets.
Those cabinets were fascinating in and of themselves. Built into the rough stone foundation of our century-old farmhouse, those cabinets got filled to the brim by mid-October with colorful mason jars and then “mysteriously” emptied by June of the next year, just in time for the full-swing of harvest. There was one small cabinet, just my size when I was seven or eight, which held all the fruit jams I helped my mom make - strawberry, grape, peach, blueberry, and raspberry. Peach was always my favorite.
The big cabinets held the large quart jars of pie fillings (peach, apple, cherry); fruit halves (pears, peaches); soup mix (for my mom’s amazing hearty vegetable soup); vegetables (green/yellow beans, lima beans, kidney beans, corn, beets, tomatoes); and sauces (apple sauce, spaghetti sauce, soup stock). All of this had been grown in our garden and on our farm. We had three large freezers full of meat we’d raised ourselves as well. To say the least, it was an impressive example of sustainable agriculture and eating really really local all year round.
But sadly, while I do have a farm right in my neighborhood, I don’t have that lovely big cellar with stone walls full of canning cabinets. My small rowhouse does have a basement but not one that was built to provide the right climate and storage for food preserves. Still, I’m determined to do two things this autumn - preserve our family traditions of preserving and perpetuate the eating of fresh local fare for as long as possible. Buying mass quantities of produce from the farm stands now to can and freeze will help support those farms through the winter just as much as buying a tomato here and a squash there has all summer long.
I began my quest by drying what remained of the large box of yellow tomatoes I had on hand. I was pleased with how long they had lasted off the vine, but the signs of demise were close at hand so I needed to take action before they were too far gone. I’ve never dried my own tomatoes before, nor has anyone in my family so this is actually an evolution of sorts of our family traditions. Since my small outdoor space is lacking bright sun while overflowing with squirrels, doing the drying by natural means wasn’t an option. Oven drying turned out to be a perfect and easy process.
OVEN DRIED TOMATOES
Researched on various websites
For this batch of oven dried tomatoes, I used a yellow medium sized variety. You can dry any kind of tomato - for cherry and roma tomatoes, cut them in half. For other larger varieties, cut them into 1 inch wedges.
Begin by washing the tomatoes well and removing the stem and core along with any bad spots (the great thing about drying tomatoes is that you can use a half rotten one if part of it is still good). Cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze them over a bowl to release most of the seeds and juice. Do not squeeze them too hard though as you want some of those juicy innards to remain for flavor.
Once tomatoes are squeezed, cut into smaller wedges (about one inch) and place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side up. If you so choose, drizzle with just a little olive for added flavor. Don’t add very much though as it’ll keep the tomatoes from drying out properly if there’s too much oil.
Heat your oven to 150 F or its lowest setting if it doesn’t go that low. Since drying will take anywhere from 5 to 10 hours, this process works really well in a gas oven since the residual heat from the pilot light flame is usually enough to keep the drying process going if you need to turn the oven off when you’re in bed or not home. If using an electric oven that doesn’t have a 150 F setting, put it on low and prop the door open slightly. It’s okay to turn the oven off altogether and then turn it back on when you are in the kitchen again. Just leave the sheet(s) of tomatoes in the oven uncovered. If you’re doing multiple trays at once, rotate your baking sheets or racks every few hours.
When the tomatoes are dried they should be leathery and pliable, but not sticky. Don’t over dry them - you don’t want dark brittle bits. Rather, aim for a texture much like a raisin.
To store your oven dried tomatoes, let them cool completely and then put them in ziplock bags or glass jars with an airtight lid. Apparently they will keep this way for up to 6 months, but I can’t confirm that just yet (I’ll report back later this winter). One site I read also suggested you could freeze them for even longer storage times.
Oven dried tomatoes can also be stored in oil. To do this, do not dry them quite as much…they should still be a little bit plump. Quickly dip them in distilled vinegar and then pack in a jar before covering with olive oil. You can also add some fresh herbs and sliced garlic if you’d like. Allow the jars to sit at room temperature for a day and then store in the refrigerator.
These are great in any recipe that calls for sun-dried tomatoes. Or, to rehydrate to use in soups and sauces, soak them for 5 to 10 minutes in hot water, broth, or wine.
(one tray of tomatoes yeilds about one half pint jar when dried)
taylor said,
September 19, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
Awesome! I was staring at a bowl of yellow tomatoes last weekend. It’s cool enough now to leave the oven on for 5 hours, too. My gas bill is included, so I may have to do this.
Jennie said,
September 20, 2007 @ 6:19 am
Believe it or not, this didn’t really heat up my kitchen at all… the temp is so low that you’ll not notice anymore than you do your pilot light (which, I do, ironically notice in the dense heat of mid-summer cuz the kitchen just never cools off thanks to that dang little flame).
Rachel said,
September 20, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
may have to try this. I’m sick of canning right now. How ’bout drying peppers? Any ideas if that’d work and how I’d use them when they’re dried?
Jennie said,
September 21, 2007 @ 6:46 am
I’m sure you could dry peppers too… in fact, they might be faster than tomatoes since they don’t have nearly as much moisture. The tricky part though is figuring out what to do with them later… I guess you could soak them and then use them like roasted peppers. I’m thinking dicedup and put in pasta or a stir fry. Maybe even sandwiches, depending on the resulting texture. You know what… as I type and think, I bet you should store them in oil instead of completely dry as that will basically be roasted peppers and those will keep nicely in an airtight jar as long as the oil covers the peppers. I’ll try some this weekend and get back to you on that.
Preserving More Than Just Food « Straight from the Farm said,
September 25, 2007 @ 10:36 am
[...] wanting to preserve food but not having the storage or kitchen space to do full-fledged canning of the sorts she does. It was then that she mentioned that in the “old days”, a lot of vegetables were [...]
Jen said,
September 26, 2007 @ 9:30 am
Wow, those tomatoes look amazing! I’m glad I came across this post - I have something like twelve pounds of tomatoes and I’m still trying to get the hang of canning. This looks like a fun change of pace.
Jennie said,
September 26, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Jen - 12 pounds should make you quite a nice batch of oven dried tomatoes! Just make sure they’re plenty dried out in the end… I discovered last night that one of my batches must not have been dry enough as one particular jar seemed to be in a state of fermentation! The others were fine though so just be sure to get all the moisture out.
Jen said,
September 26, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Thanks for the tip. I’m not a fan of uncontrolled fermentation
Jennie said,
September 26, 2007 @ 11:12 am
I concur!
MarthaJo said,
October 15, 2007 @ 10:33 am
How long will the oven dried tomatoes last and how should they be stored?
MarthaJo said,
October 15, 2007 @ 11:20 am
Never mind. I just need to read farther. I was just too antsy to the tomatoes in the oven! (:
Jennie said,
October 15, 2007 @ 11:30 am
MarthaJo - You’re too funny!
I’ve done a couple batches of these now so have a little extra advice to offer you. When you’re done drying them in the oven, put the tomatoes in a paper sack and hang up in your kitchen (I dangle mine from a shelf) for a week to make sure all the moisture is out. Afterwards, I’ve started storing mine for the long term in a ziplock bag. I added this week of air drying in a paper sack because one batch I did that I thought was good and dry ended up developing a little mold later on…so the week in the sack should eliminate any remaining moisture without drying them to a crisp if you left them in the oven longer. Their texture is much more like sun-dried tomatoes now that I’m doing this. Hope that helps! 
Rachel said,
October 15, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
I did a tray this weekend and am looking forward to using them when you post a recipe later in the year. I, too, was concerned about mold as some were a little sticky but didn’t want to keep them in much more because a few were also brittle. So I tried the freezer storage.
We’ll see…
Jennie said,
October 15, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
Excellent, Rachel! I’m already devising a couple recipes for them. Probably give the first one a go as soon as fresh tomato season ends…could be a couple more weeks at this rate, considering the balmy weather.
MarthaJo said,
October 17, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
I tried this and it worked great!! The tomatoes dried within 3 hours in my electric oven. Just a couple of them were still a bit moist, but they are also thicker than the rest. They are now in a jar in my fridge. I plan on puiitng them in oil-that’s how we usually BUY sun-dried tomatoes.
Do you think I could do peppers this way, too? I’ve got a boatload of them! I tried to make “rista” to hang them to dry, but my fine motor skills leave a lot to be desired (<;
Jennie said,
October 17, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
MarthaJo - I’m so glad you tried this. Putting them in oil is probably the best way to keep them if a few remained moist. You can definitely do this with peppers….in fact, I did a post on them too.
Here ya go: http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/for-those-short-on-space/
MarthaJo said,
October 19, 2007 @ 7:46 am
Thanks Jennie! I’m going to try the peppers tomorrow. My husband is a chef and we have a little home bakery. He uses the tomatoes in the dough when making sun-dried tomato wraps. We’ve used sun-dried from the grocery store, but now we can use our own!
Jennie said,
October 19, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Wow, that’s awesome, MarthaJo! Are you in Philly? I want to come try your tomato wraps!
MarthaJo said,
October 19, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Hi Jennie.
I’m in Vermont. My niece is in Philly. She’s a profesora at Villa Nova.
(some of the peppers are in the oven right now. They smell heavenly!)
Jennie said,
October 19, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Drats! Let me know when you start a direct-shipping element to your bakery.
Or, if you feel so inclined, share your recipe with us for using the dried tomatoes in the bread. 
MarthaJo said,
October 19, 2007 @ 10:19 am
Wiill do! I’ll get the recipe from my husband. It’s very simple. We’re going to experiment this winter on sending our baked goods through the mail. We have friends in Princeton, NJ and in Pittsburgh, who are only here in the summer that want our stuff. I’ll let you know how it works out.
Now, the peppers are getting water built up on them. Should I keep the oven door ajar for awhile? it’s an electric range.
Jennie said,
October 19, 2007 @ 12:11 pm
Fantastic! Can’t wait for both the recipe and the order-by-mail option.
Yes, you’ll need to crack your oven door open to get some of the excess moisture out of your peppers. You can also pull them out and let them “air dry” for an hour or two before putting them back in the oven to continue the process if you’re finding the moisture isn’t disappearing.
Week of Bread: Dried Tomato « Straight from the Farm said,
January 29, 2008 @ 10:32 am
[...] have my stash of preserves to recall warmer days behind and ahead of us. We’ll start with some oven-dried tomatoes that I put up in September. Oh, and let’s not forget the frozen basil puree I stashed away at [...]