Dehydrating Tomatoes...A Couple of Questions

[tnpeppers]

I need to pick the minds of those T'Villains who dehydrate tomatoes following 'brokenbar's recipe. First, when you soak the sliced 'maters in wine, do you refrigerate them, or can you just leave it on the counter for the required 24 hours? Do you cover the bowl with a 'cling' wrap, or will a loose-fitting lid of some sort do? Finally; when the tomatoes are done dehydrating; how do you store them? Do they NEED to be frozen, or can they just be kept in storage bags (like Zip-Locks) in the pantry or other cool place?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[Father'sDaughter]

I don't know how Mary (Brokenbar) does it, but when I used her recipe I left them to soak in the wine on the counter, loosely covered just to keep anything floating around out. And I put them in ziplock bags and tossed them into the vegetable drawer in the fridge. I actually still have a bag that are now two years old and they have no sign of mold, deterioration, etc.

[tnpeppers]

That's what I wound up doing...they're sitting in a large bowl on the kitchen table with cling wrap over the contents. They will be in the dehydrator shortly...thanks for the reply.