I love having enough tomatoes to dry. Last year, I barely had enough to eat, let alone dry. This year, they are still producing and I am getting more cherry tomatoes and Romas -- perfect varieties to place in the dehydrator and allow them to turn a beautiful burgundy red. All I have to do is wash them, take off the stems and any bad places and I usually slice them so they will fit in the dryer trays. Above, these are almost ready to take out of the dryer. Some of them are a little soft in places so I will let them dry until morning.
If they are small enough, you can place them in the dryer rack whole, but it does take longer to dehydrate them when they are whole.
The large tomatoes I will can, but the smaller tomatoes are perfect for drying. I can't resist eating a few after they are dried. They are very good -- sweet and perfect for snacking. To use them I will rehydrate them by soaking them in water and using them as I would regular tomatoes in a salad or Italian dish. A great way to use the little tomatoes so they don't go to waste. You can see the fresh tomatoes in the layer underneath the dehydrated ones. I can keep the dryer going for days.
After they are dried, I just pop them into a freezer bag and store in the freezer and take them out as I need them for cooking.
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