Sundrying tomatoes?

[Earthgirl Jen]

Ah, thanks both, no i didnt know that snoop. Would have looked more into it if the toms het anywhere but thanks for a massive heads up.
So dehydrate, store ( how , airtight jar ? ) then rehydrate by adding dwr ( water ) and into oil etc, bit of swatting to do then

I dried thin slices one year and just kept them in an airtight jar. Look up Excalibur dehydrator instruction manuals jackarmy. They are the professionals in the US at dehydrating, masses of good advice available for free.

[Bad Boy Club]

I do four different things each year (mostly grow sungold):

1.) Slow roast them whole with rapeseed oil & black pepper, freeze them in portions.

2.) As above but with garlic cloves & whatever woody herbs are good in the garden at the time (thyme, oregano & rosemary).

3.) As #1 then push them through a sieve so I have a smooth sauce, then reduce for 15 minutes in a pan to intensify.

4.) Oven dry with homemade rosemary infused oil, black pepper & oregano. 150C cut side up for 1.5 hours. Pack them in a sterilised kilner jar with enough infused oil to cover & leave them for two weeks to allow the flavours to develop. They will also keep happily in the fridge for a month or more.

I avoid adding at the roasting stage as it can draw too much water out & can intensify during freezing.

A tray of sungold ready to be oven dried:

[Bumblingbroccoli]

Brilliant advice everyone. Hadn't thought of roasting then freezing. So far have only frozen whole tomatoes or made tomato soup or pasta sauce in large quantities then frozen. So roasting sounds great option.

Can someone explain what botulism is and why tomatoes can cause it? And what you're supposed to do to prevent it?

Also if anyone has awesome çhutney recipe for green yellow or red toms pls share. Am good at jam but have always been scared of making chutney!

Right back to holiday in Devon- not meant to be thinking of veggie patch while away but can't help it....

[Bad Boy Club]

The potential for botulism was only being stated when dehydrating & it's not specific to tomatoes only so you can disregard it when cooking.

An oven even on it's lowest setting of around 135C will prevent any risk at all as you only risk bacteria if you don't heat above 85C for 5 minutes.

As long as you make sure you bring food up to temperature quickly & cool it down rapidly you substantially reduce the risk of bacteria, you want to avoid food sitting at the perfect temperature for food bacteria to thrive as much as possible.

The 'danger zone' is considered to be between 5 & 60 °C

I actually used a tub of last years tomato crop I roasted & froze 11 months ago today & they were perfectly good & very tasty