Oven-Dried Tomatoes

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

3¼ to 8¼ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 4 (Makes about 1 1/4 ounces dried tomatoes)

Ingredients

2 pounds plum tomatoes (as uniform in size as possible), halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and skin pricked 6 to 8 times with the tip of a sharp knife (see illustrations below)

Before You Begin

Because these tomatoes need at least several hours in the oven, dry as many as possible at one time. Depending on your oven size, you can multiply the recipe, keeping in mind that drying times may increase.

Instructions

Adjust oven racks to middle and low positions; heat oven to 200 degrees. Line large tray or cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Place tomatoes, cut side down, on large wire rack. Set wire rack on middle oven rack and foil-lined tray on lower rack. Dry, oven door closed, until desired texture is attained, 3 to 4 hours for plump tomatoes, 5 to 6 hours for leathery-textured ones, and 7 to 8 hours for completely dehydrated ones. When dry and cool, place in airtight containers. (Completely dried tomatoes can be stored at room temperature up to 1 year, leathery- textured ones can be refrigerated up to 6 months, and plump ones for 1 to 2 weeks.) If any off flavors or smells develop in the leathery or completely dried versions during storage, it may be due to mold or other bacteria; throw away the entire batch.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Name: Oven-Dried Tomatoes
Total time: 8 h 45 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds plum tomatoes (as uniform in size as possible), halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and skin pricked 6 to 8 times with the tip of a sharp knife (see illustrations below)

By America's Test Kitchen

Time

3¼ to 8¼ hours, plus 30 minutes cooling

Yield

Serves 4 (Makes about 1 1/4 ounces dried tomatoes)

Ingredients

2 pounds plum tomatoes (as uniform in size as possible), halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and skin pricked 6 to 8 times with the tip of a sharp knife (see illustrations below)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 pounds plum tomatoes (as uniform in size as possible), halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and skin pricked 6 to 8 times with the tip of a sharp knife (see illustrations below)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 pounds plum tomatoes (as uniform in size as possible), halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and skin pricked 6 to 8 times with the tip of a sharp knife (see illustrations below)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We developed our oven-dried tomato recipe to eliminate the need to purchase sun-dried tomatoes. In the process we learned a few tricks. Slicing the tomatoes in half lengthwise before coring them proved useful, as did scooping out all the seeds and gelatinous matter with a teaspoon. In the oven, the tomatoes dried most evenly on a wire rack placed on a foil-lined tray to catch any juices. We also found that a low oven temperature of 200 degrees worked better for our oven-dried tomato recipe than the low temperatures found in many cookbooks.