Fans of Mediterranean cuisine know how important it is to dried tomatoes. They are served with meat as an independent snack, added to salads and other dishes. This product has a unique taste, unlike the taste of fresh, pickled or even baked tomatoes. Dried tomatoes at home are not quite the same as store-based, as in a regular kitchen it is impossible to create optimal conditions for their preparation, but no less tasty and mouth-watering. They can be prepared for future use and used as needed. This will provide significant savings.
Cooking Features
In countries located on the Mediterranean coast, hostesses vyalyat tomatoes in natural conditions. In our country, weather conditions do not allow to do this quickly and efficiently. The hostess comes to the aid of an electric dryer for fruits and vegetables, an oven, and even a microwave. Each method of cooking dried tomatoes at home has its own specifics, but there are also general principles for preparing this tasty snack.
- Only meaty varieties of tomatoes are suitable for drying, preferably small ones. These include "ladies fingers", "grapes", "cream". Many varieties of cherry tomatoes are also suitable.
- Small tomatoes for curing are cut in half, large ones are cut into quarters or even smaller pieces.
- Tomatoes are not peeled from the skin before preparation, but the pulp with seeds is recommended to be removed.
- Tomatoes are dried at a low temperature for a long time. They are considered to be ready when, when pressed, the juice no longer stands out from them. By this time, the weight of the tomatoes is reduced by about 70 percent. In order to fill a one-liter jar, 3, 5-4, 5 kg of tomatoes are required, depending on their initial density.
- To give tomatoes a pleasant taste when they are dried, they are sprinkled with a mixture of salt and sugar, a proportion is considered ideal when 3 parts of salt are taken of 5 parts of sugar. If you refuse to use the sweet product, dried tomatoes will be too sour. Additionally, you can add dried herbs, various types of pepper. Garlic and fresh herbs are added directly to the jar in which the harvest will be stored.
- Banks in which dried tomatoes will be stored must be thoroughly washed, sterilized and allowed to dry. Cover the tomatoes with metal lids, which must first be boiled.
- Ready tomatoes poured oil. If they are made for the winter, it is necessary to preheat the oil to approximately the temperature that is required for frying products in deep fat. You can check the readiness of the oil by throwing a piece of onion at it. Fill the jars with hot oil should be carefully, so that the glass does not burst. After filling to the brim with oil, the jars are rolled and wrapped. They should cool down in a steam bath for better preservation.
The conditions and shelf life of dried tomatoes depends on the selected recipe. Usually blanks made with cold oil can stand only in the refrigerator and not more than 6 months. If the oil was hot, canned food is stored in a cool room, they do not deteriorate for a year, and sometimes even longer.
Sun-dried tomatoes in the electric dryer
Composition (1 l):
- “cream” grade tomatoes - 4 kg;
- olive oil - 0, 4-0, 5 l;
- salt - 15 g;
- sugar - 25 g;
- black ground pepper - 5-10 g;
- Provence herbs (dry) - 20 g;
- garlic - 2 cloves.
Preparation Method:
- Wash the tomatoes, dry them with a napkin. Cut along in half.
- Using a small spoon, remove the juicy pulp with seeds from the halves of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with oil (this is convenient to do with a special spray gun).
- Spread the halves of the tomatoes into the driers. Each contains about 1 kg of tomatoes. You need to put cuts up so that the tomato juice does not fall on the motor of the unit.
- Mix salt, pepper, sugar and Provencal herbs. Sprinkle the halves of the tomatoes with this mixture.
- Install pallets. Turn on the electric dryer by setting the temperature to 70 degrees.
- The drying process will last 10-12 hours. Every 2-3 hours, swap pallets.
- When the tomatoes are sufficiently dense and dry, heat the oil.
- Sterilize the jars and their lids.
- Chop garlic finely, put it in jars.
- At the bottom of each jar, pour in some hot oil (20-30 ml per 0, 5 l).
- Fill the jar with dried tomatoes, pouring a layer of butter with each layer.
- Fill the tomatoes with oil. It is necessary to fill them completely cans
- Roll up the cans.
- Cover with a blanket, leave to cool in this form.
The finished snack can be stored at room temperature for a year. If tomatoes stand in a cellar or a refrigerator, they will not spoil for two years.
Dried tomatoes in the microwave
Composition (for 0, 25 l):
- cherry tomatoes - 1 kg;
- vegetable oil (refined) - 150-180 ml;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- dried basil - 5 g;
- ground black pepper, salt, sugar - to taste.
Preparation Method:
- Prepare the tomatoes by washing, drying, removing the pulp with a coffee spoon.
- Spread the tomatoes on a dish suitable for use in the microwave oven.
- Using a cooking brush, coat with oil. Salt, pepper, sprinkle with sugar and dried basil.
- Put the tomatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes, turning it on at maximum power. After turning off the unit, wait 5 minutes.
- Take out the dish with the tomatoes, drain the juice out of it.
- Return the tomatoes to the microwave, turn it on for 3 minutes. Wait 3 minutes. Drain the juice.
- Repeat the procedure until the juice ceases to stand out even if you press the tomatoes on the spoon.
- Sterilize the jar and the metal lid (screw) that fits it.
- Heat the oil.
- Finely chop the garlic.
- Fill a jar with tomatoes, sprinkle them with chopped garlic.
- Fill with oil. It must fill all voids.
- Close the jar tightly, leave to cool under something tight.
This method of cooking dried tomatoes is the easiest, but canned food cooked this way is not very good. They can only be kept in the refrigerator or in a very cool place for 4-6 months. If the oil is not preheated beforehand, but the tomatoes are poured cold, they must be consumed within a month.
Sun-dried tomatoes in the oven
The composition (0, 5 l):
- tomatoes - 2 kg;
- olive oil - 0, 25 l;
- dried thyme - 2-3 g;
- dried rosemary - 2-3 g;
- salt - 5 g;
- sugar - 5-10 g;
- dried basil - 5 g;
- ground black pepper - 2-3 g;
- dried garlic - 5 g.
Preparation Method:
- Spread out the seeds cleared tomatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with oil, sprinkle with a mixture of salt, sugar, pepper and dried herbs.
- Place the baking tray in an oven heated to 100 degrees. Turn on convection mode. If this function is not provided in your oven, soak a wooden skewer in water beforehand and insert it between the stove and the oven door to create a small gap.
- After 2 hours, increase the temperature in the oven to 120-130 degrees. After 2 hours, start checking the tomatoes - it is possible that some of them are ready. If not yet, wait another 30-60 minutes.
- Sterilize the jar, fill it with tomatoes.
- Heat the oil, pour it into the jar with spoons, fill it in about half.
- Tap the jar lightly on the table so that the oil fills the voids.
- Fill the jar with oil to the brim.
- Hermetically seal, cover with a blanket.
The next day, you can rearrange the banks in the pantry or any other cool room. The shelf life of this billet is 12 months.
Dried tomatoes seem to be a delicacy to many, and they are very expensive in stores. Fans of this unique snack can cook it at home. If you use hot oil for preservation, sun-dried tomatoes can be prepared in advance and regaled on them all winter.
