Drying tomatoes. Not as many as there were to start with. You do have to taste them as they dry, don't you? I started 2 more trays today.

Today's tomato harvest.

PP

Gill (hoping for better luck next year)

The tomato with "??" is supposed to be a Cherokee Purple. So the label said when I got it from PP. I suspect it's not a CP.

Yes, I shared the haul with the folks in the North.

Jennifer, pouting and envious of such a beautiful harvest

Spatz, the Cherokee Purple I grew was wrong this year too, so I've ditched the whole packet of seeds for those... they were from Sand Hill in 2003 and I've notified them that there's a lot of crossed seed in that lot.

PP

The things that look like bananas, are they yellow zucchini? Do they taste the same - just prettier - or are they different on the inside too? :)

Also I think you've just provided the motivation to get the dehyrating thingy out of the box... Is that all you do, just cut up the tomatoes, lay them on the trays and turn it on? What then? Jars? Um, and one more *really* dumb question... what does one do with them? I've never had a dried tomato...

Amanda
Dept of Silly Questions

Answer to 1st question: Yes, these are Golden Zucchinis. The only function they have is to look pretty, the taste is the same as 'ordinary' Zucchinis. They give any dish a great summery feel/look. They are not yellow inside but the usual whitish colour.

Answer to 2nd question: Cut tomatoes in half, scoop out seeds if there are many. Lay them cut side up on tray, salt if desired (I do), and switch on dehydrator.

However, if it's a scorcher of a day, put the tray outside in full sun. Cover with this mesh thingie from the dehydrator (you usually use them to make these lather thingies). Bring tray inside in the evenings. Take out next morning. They only need about 2 scorching hot days to get all leathery. Just eat like a snack. Or add to a pasta dish, or to any old dish to pep it up, or fill sterilized jar with them and add olive oil to keep. Or put in ziploc bag to freeze. Mine haven't reached that stage yet. They are in my tummy. *pats happy tummy*

You can also add them to your bread dough. Or use as a pizza topping. While you do all this you pop another one into your mouth. And another one...

My preferred way of keeping sun-dried tomatoes is to freeze them. They are a great addition to most dishes, especially in winter.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further clarification.

Yours truly,
Dept. of Garden Gluttony

Patrina

While I was admiring the photograh, above, of your very large tomatoes I was also pondering my aching feet. Caused this day by standing in the kitchen for too many hours preparing tomatoes for drying.

Unfortunately my harvest this morning yielded a very large quantity of very small tomatoes. Cutting all the little tomatoes in half and removing the seeds, sufficient to fill all four trays of the dehydrator, as recommended on a sticker attached to the unit, took a *very* long time.

I must admit, at this point, that by the time I arrived at the last tray, I had tired of the correct procedure and merely squished them between thumb and forefinger. A minor shortcut which will unfortunately has caused a great many more hours work as I must now begin removing the tomato juice and seeds adhering to many surfaces of my kitchen, including but not limited to the floor, ceiling, benches, and light fittings. Squishing tomatoes is a most unpredictable exercise.

Upon completion and application of the lid, I returned to the instruction book for details of temperature and timing, noticing as one does a photo on the cover of what appear to be trays of WHOLE cherry tomatoes.

Now I may be mistaken and the image is in fact red grapes. In either case my question now is whether I needed to do all that stuff and might have better enjoyed my afternoon reading the forum!

Amanda
Dept of Silly Questions

All I do is wash the fruit, cut into halves (if they're cherry types) or thick slices, and set them on the trays, which is a fairly fast job. I've been drying them at 45 degrees, and they keep a good colour. But I do salt them a little if I'm planning to store them in oil (& a little vinegar) - I salt them on the racks BEFORE placing the racks on the base unit. Works fine.

PP

Amanda

Deseeded tomatoes dry quicker.

Yours minimalistically,
Dept. of Garden Gluttony

There are some ripper tomatoes!

Mantis, I'm a bit scared to go there anymore. I've posted so many pictures, they might lynch me. Poor Earl has already written his own epitaph - and my name gets mentioned.

Great harvest Spatz. Earl will love it!