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Fancy drying some tomato's, maybe peppers etc.
How dry do they need to get to before you bottle them.
As in crispy or rubbery, sort of thing.
How dry do they need to get to before you bottle them.
As in crispy or rubbery, sort of thing.
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If they''re going in oil then rubbery - if just keeping dry, then they need to be crispy.
Don't forget to salt them, it preserves them
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Just seen a more relevant preserving section 2 threads down.
If anyone wants to move please feel free.
May have a go but when I was reading round some bits said dry (in semi-open oven) for 1 hour, another said 2-3 hours and 1 said 6-8 hours.
The spread of possible durations meant it is difficult to really decide on.
Thought it better to ask how dry instead of how long.Comment
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I do mine in a dehydrator but it depends with each batch as they all have slightly different water contents. Obviously not really the time of year for it at the moment as it's more a way to preserve gluts (not sown any toms yet and the peppers and chillies are still ickle). I don't really have any use for totally dried tomatoes etc but have done peppers to totally dry and then ground them as chilli powder which works really well. They've been dried overnight in the dehydrator and I shouldn't think would take much different time in a low oven - remember you're drying, not cooking so want a very low temperature. Toms I usually do until they're sun dried consistency, this still takes a few hours so I'm not too sure what would be achieved in an hour - I tend to roast my toms for about that long when I make passatta. You're best bet would be to dry it out and keep testing to see if you like the consistency. Soft ones don't keep without oil / vinegar, I use the River Cottage Handbook recipe which includes some balsamic vinegar and is excellent.
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I dry them for about 8 hours but it varies. I dry them until they still bend, but most of the moisture is gone. I don't bottle them though as I'm wary about botulism and would prefer they didn't taste of vinegar, so I freeze them instead. This means you don't have to fully dry them.Comment
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