How to Oven Dry Tomatoes

When you are thinking about doing oven dried tomatoes, there are several ways that you can get them done easily and quickly. Following directions for oven dried tomatoes will allow you to make the most out of your tomato crop, and you'll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor for weeks to come. Most of the time, when you have a tomato crop, you might find that they are wasted, as you simply don't have enough time to eat all of the tomatoes as they come up. Therefore, you might want to consider making sun dried tomatoes out of the extras that you have grown, or those extras that you have purchased.

When you have sun dried tomatoes, you don’t have to buy them in the store, and they are going to taste much better home made than any you could purchase. Sun dried tomatoes are great for salads and pastas, and they make wonderful pizza toppings as well as are good to use in any recipe that calls for them. Your oven dried tomatoes are going to be just as great.

Direction for Oven Dried Tomatoes

When you are making oven dried tomatoes, you'll need the following ingredients:

20 tomatoes – either Roma from the store, or your own homegrown variety
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of parsley, flat leafed and finely chopped
Salt – coarse or sea
Pepper – freshly ground works best

First, trim off the stems and ends of the tomatoes. Then, quarter them lengthwise, and take out the seeds.

Put the quarters in a large bowl that is not made out of metal. Add olive oil to the bowl, as well as the vinegar and parsley and mix well. Use the salt and pepper to season to taste. Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 or 3 hours.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F, or 95 degrees C.

Your tomatoes should be placed in a single layer on a baking sheet that is nonstick. They should be baked for 16 to 20 hours. The best way to do this is to start the oven at about 7 pm and bake them all through the night. When they are finished, they should be plump, juicy, and ready to store. Let the cool, and then store them. In order to store them correctly, put them in sterilized glass jars and pour olive oil over them to cover. Seal them in the jars with lids, and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. You can also put them in a zipper bag and store them in the freezer for up to and more than 3 months.