oven dried tomatoes

about 25 years ago, i was featured in a local paper. one of the recipes that i included was oven dried tomatoes. they were a fairly new item in the store at that time and very expensive so i fooled around with drying them in the oven. i have since purchased a dryer but still prefer the oven method for tomatoes.

heirloom black cherry

 oven dried tomatoes

this is a basic technique
select the amount you would like to dry.
preheat oven to 400 degrees
slice tomatoes and de-seed if they are larger than cherry tomatoes
line cookie sheets with foil and spray lightly or rub olive oil so that the tomatoes so not stick
place the tomatoes skin side down and sprinkle with salt
place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and reduce heat to 200 degrees

this picture is a little darker than they really are

this stage of the drying process will take 12-18 hours depending on the type and size of the tomato. it is worth the wait. when the tomatoes resemble prunes but still retain their color, they are done.

i keep them in a jar  immersed in olive oil simply because i like to use the flavored oil in salads and cooking. they can be stored in plastic bags also.

2 large trays of cherry tomatoes yielded about 4 cups of dried tomatoes