Has anyone tried drying tomatoes and what works well or doesn't work?

Hold them out your car window as you speed to the farmer’s market.—A 7 oz.tomato will dry in 20 minutes at 78 mph in 82 degree temps.
You could just blanch them and freeze them :)

Blanch them now,damnit! XD

@lucillelucillelucille LMAO.

I see you are still here!
Here is some peppy music to get you going.

@lucillelucillelucille Do they get soft from freezing?

@Adirondackwannabe—Only in bizzaro world! I TOLD YOU THEY FREEZE! LOL!
I cut them up and use them in soups
Here is my last suggestion…

You asked for it.

@lucillelucillelucille I thought you didn’t cook. lol

@ANef_is_Enuf Excellent. I hadn’t thought of that.

@Adirondackwannabe- I try to avoid it…in the kitchen

For once I will have to agree with @lucillelucillelucille blanching is the way to go and I am currently doing it every other day with all the matos I am picking.

I’d just chuck the buggers at Jehovas witnessesessessss! Or any passer by really, get my aim in.

I have had good luck with a basic dehydrator. The unit consists of a couple of stacking racks with a fan at the bottom for air circulation and a heater to control temperature. I have seen some good plans for solar dryers, but haven’t made one myself. These are little more than screens that you cover to keep the bugs out and set out in the sun.

I have also had good luck with “tomato leather”. Basically you make a puree in a blender, put it in a pot and bring it to a boil, let sit overnight to separate the solids from the liquid, us a turkey baster to suck of the clear liquid off the top (save this and use it as a stock), pour the solids on to a tray in the dehydrator and dry. What you wind up with is the tomato equivilant of a “fruit roll up”. Re-hydrate in oil to use anywhere tomato paste is called for.

Heck. around these parts, all you need do to dry a tomato these days is hold it out the window for a few minutes…

Make spaghetti sauce, cool it. Then place in one quart seal-able bags, press all all out and FREEZE.

I have never tried this myself, but I found a Tomato drying site that tells you how to do it in a variety of methods, with a dehydrating machine, your oven or a hot car.

Otherwise, just get out a towel, tell them maters to hold still and wipe them behind the ears and between the toes and then give them a little kiss and a cookie.