Only a few people know how to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer. Indeed, not every housewife has such a device available. But if you are an avid summer resident, and every year you collect a large crop, then such a device is absolutely necessary for you. Indeed, thanks to him, you will be able to dry yourself not only freshly picked vegetables, but also fruits and even berries. Such a device is not too expensive, but it helps out when harvesting a plentiful crop very well.
The choice of the main ingredient
Before telling you how to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer, you should talk about the features of choosing the main product. So, experts recommend choosing rather elastic, but still ripe vegetables, for self-drying. Tomatoes of the “cream” or “ladies' finger” varieties are well dried in the electric dryer. They have dense walls and a small amount of pulp. This is exactly what we need.
Vegetable pretreatment
How to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer? Before answering the question, it is necessary to talk about how it is necessary to process such vegetables. They need to be collected or purchased in a store, and then washed well in warm water. Next, ripe tomatoes should be cut in half (preferably along). At the same time, it is recommended to cut the stalk in vegetables. If tomatoes have dents or putrid places, then it is undesirable to use them. Vegetables should be as fresh and intact.
After the tomatoes are cut in half, the pulp with seeds should be removed from their middle part. It is advisable to carry out this procedure using a regular dessert spoon. By the way, throwing out the pulp is not recommended. After all, it can be used to prepare tasty goulash, gravy, Italian pasta, vegetable stew, pizza and other dishes and dressings.
What do we need?
Drying tomatoes in an electric dryer requires the use of not only processed tomatoes. After all, in order to make tasty dried vegetables that will be stored for a long time, you should additionally use salt and aromatic seasonings.
So, to dry tomatoes with an electric dryer, the following ingredients are needed:
- ripe tomatoes "cream" or "ladies' finger" - about 3 kg;
- iodized salt - about 2 dessert spoons (add without slide);
- dried Italian herbs - 2 dessert spoons.
How to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer?
To carry out the process of drying at home, tomatoes should be processed as described above. Next, they need to be turned upside down with the cut part, laid on paper towels or napkins and kept in this condition for about 5-8 minutes. This time is enough to partially deprive processed tomatoes of their juice. After this, the tomatoes need to be turned upside down, sprinkled with fine salt and dried Italian herbs. In this composition, vegetables must be placed on the grill of an electric dryer. Moreover, their slice should look exclusively up.
After filling the electrical appliance, you need to turn it on and set the temperature to 70 degrees. In this state, it is recommended to dry the tomatoes for about 4-6 hours. The choice of the specified time depends entirely on which tomatoes you use (large or not).
Features of sun-dried tomato
Now you know how to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer. It should be noted that after all the above steps you should get soft and supple tomatoes. If you dry them, they will not be as tasty as we would like. By the way, sun-dried tomatoes (in an electric dryer) retain the same beneficial properties as in fresh vegetables. But if stored incorrectly, these qualities may be lost. Moreover, the incorrect content of dried vegetables can contribute to their mold or rot.
Other drying methods
Despite the fact that the tomatoes in the electric dryer turn out to be the tastiest and are stored for a long time, many housewives use other more affordable methods for drying. So, often tomatoes are dried in the oven or just in the sun. The first option is the most popular. However, it requires a long heat treatment than an electric dryer (about 7-8 hours). As a result, some beneficial substances can simply “evaporate” from vegetables. It should also be noted that such a process requires constant monitoring. After all, if you miss the moment, then all processed tomatoes can quite easily burn, and this is unacceptable for dried vegetables.
As for drying in the sun, this requires exceptional weather conditions. In other words, the sun should “fry” for several days, and the wind should be variable. It should also be noted that sun-dried tomatoes in an electric dryer retain all the useful properties of fresh tomatoes, which can not be said about those that were dried in the sun in urban conditions. Indeed, such a product in the process of drying can quite easily absorb all those harmful substances that are in the atmosphere. In this regard, this method is recommended to be used only if you live in a suitable area where there are no motorways nearby, as well as chemical and other enterprises.
The disadvantage of this method is that for drying vegetables you need about 3-5 days. That is why most housewives are interested in the question of how to dry tomatoes in an electric dryer. After all, using this device you can not only quickly dry tomatoes, but also carry out this process in accordance with all the rules.
How to store dried tomatoes?
Having dried fresh tomatoes properly, the housewives ask a new question: how to store them correctly? Indeed, according to experts, with proper drying, tomatoes can be consumed until late spring. It should be noted that there are several ways to store such vegetables:
- At room temperature. Some housewives prefer to store sun-dried tomatoes in a normal warm room. It should be noted that this method is quite acceptable. But for this, dried vegetables need to be placed in a cloth bag. It is advisable that it be made of their cotton or linen. After all, only in this way will you achieve air circulation inside it, which is necessary for the crane to properly maintain dried tomatoes. If this condition is not met, then, most likely, your vegetables will mold and rot very quickly. By the way, it is recommended to keep such a bag only in a dry and dark room.
- In the refrigerator or freezer. Most housewives prefer to store sun-dried tomatoes in this way. They explain their choice by the fact that in a refrigerator or freezer, vegetables will never mold, and in addition, they will retain a maximum of useful substances.
- Preservation. Dried tomatoes in oil are a very tasty and fragrant snack, which can not only be served, but also used to prepare various first and second courses. We decided to talk about this method of storing dried vegetables in more detail.
Preserved Dried Tomatoes
To make delicious Italian tomatoes (dried), you should wrap the vegetables in an electric dryer and prepare the following ingredients:
- vegetable oil - about 200-300 ml;
- fresh garlic - 4-5 cloves.
Cooking process
Before canning dried tomatoes, peel garlic cloves and then cut them into not-so-thin slices. Next, you need to take a few half-liter glass jars and sterilize them on a stove. In the same way it is necessary to do with the lids, which in the future you plan to roll up containers.
After preparing the container, you need to take a skillet, put garlic plates in it and pour in vegetable oil. The contents should be calcined, but in no case boil. If you do not preheat the oil, then the tomatoes can deteriorate quite quickly.
Blank forming
After the vegetable fat is calcined, it should be poured into sterilized jars in the amount of one large spoon. There, you also need to lay out several plates of garlic. Next, at the bottom of the container, place a layer of sun-dried tomatoes, which must again be covered with garlic. It is recommended to perform these actions until the bank is full. At the end, hot vegetable oil should be poured into it and immediately tightly rolled up.
Where to store canned food?
After all the glass containers are filled and rolled up, they need to be turned upside down, and then left to cool completely and put into the refrigerator or cellar. Keep in this form a blank of felted tomatoes should be no more than 4-5 months. According to the hostesses, this appetizer turns out to be very tasty and fragrant.
How to use in cooking?
We talked about how to wrap tomatoes easily and quickly. But how to use dried tomatoes in cooking ? The use of such vegetables is very diverse. It should be noted that some people prefer to use them in their usual dried form. However, most housewives use such blanks in a slightly different way. So, sun-dried tomatoes are often added to meat goulash, homemade sauces, gravy and even soups. Moreover, from dried vegetables very tasty and fragrant salads are obtained. As for tomatoes that were canned in vegetable oil, they are ideal as a snack. They are also recommended for use in the process of making pizza and sandwiches.
To summarize
As you can see, there are many ways to dry tomatoes, store them and use them in cooking. All the methods presented have long been tested and are widely used by zealous hostesses. However, their choice is entirely up to you.
Useful Tips
Observing all the requirements for drying tomatoes, you are sure to get a tasty, fragrant, and most importantly, healthy product that can be stored until late spring. If you decide to use your electric dryer for drying tomatoes, we recommend that you listen to the following tips:
- For home-drying tomatoes, you should choose medium-sized vegetables with dense walls. If you buy large and fleshy tomatoes, then they will have to be dried for a rather long time.
- To get delicious sun-dried tomatoes, it is recommended to flavor them with aromatic spices, salt and seasonings before drying. Which one to use is your personal choice.
- If you use an electric dryer to dry tomatoes, it is recommended that you carefully monitor that the product does not dry out. Otherwise, only a crust will remain from the vegetables, which cannot be consumed.
- Before adding sun-dried tomatoes to dishes, they should not be washed. It is only necessary to chop tomatoes with a sharp knife.