Drying

[Douglas_OW]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

Not me...I need them to hold together well as I soak them in Red WIne for 24 hours prior to drying and they have to get sliced, go into a 5 gallon bucket, get taken out of the 5 gallon bucket and then put onto trays...I do slice mine 1/2" thick. I have read other posts where some people do peel them but none were doing the 1000 to 2000 pounds I do each season. That would defeat my big, nearly seedless, dry, "easy" criteria!

Do you need to keep everything tightly covered during the wine soak, and are you able to reuse the wine to process more than one batch of tomatoes? If not, I would guess that you go thru many gallons of wine each season.

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by Douglas_OW

Do you need to keep everything tightly covered during the wine soak, and are you able to reuse the wine to process more than one batch of tomatoes? If not, I would guess that you go thru many gallons of wine each season.

Douglas, I do put lids on the buckets just to keep out dust or anything else. I can usually re-use a bucket of wine 4 times (I may have to add a little new wine to it.) By the fourth soak, you are getting a lot of seds and sludge. On a happy note, this stuff is GREAT to pour on your compost pile. The alcohol quickly evaporates and where ever I dump it, the worms just flock to it (My version of a Worm "kegger"!) It may be the sugars they are attracted to... Even then, I go through about 50 gallons of wine a season. I buy the cheapest red wine I can find. I can get half gallons at the dollar store lots of times, otherwise, I hit Costco or buy it on line. And I have mentioned before, you can use any kind of wine although I seriosuly doubt that a 25.00 bottle will do anything more for the tomatoes than a 1.00 bottle Red or white, should be no difference.

The wine adds so much "pizazz" to the tomatoes and they are very rich flavored after soaking. And I forgot to add that I bought food grade plastic 5 gallon buckets wiuth lids that were new. At the end of the season, I fill them with a bleach/water solution to make sure they are very clean and then rinse them throughly and store with the lids on. I have a friend who just bought new Rubber Maid large square tubs with secure lids that she uses. I use the square Rubber Maid one's to ferment my pickles in.

[Douglas_OW]

Thanks for sharing all of the details of your drying method. I'm definitely going to give this a try next season.

Jim

[dazooz]

brokenbar

You should be charging admission for this thread... Very useful info...

Thanks

[brokenbar]

I am more than happy to share whatever I have learned over the years.
I could never imnagine a life where I did not have a garden and I know that most on this site are kindred spirits indeed. I have a friend who does not garden and she thinks it is very strange that we can find that much to say about tomato's...She belongs to a political forum and she says they have half the posts we do which she finds utterly incredible!
If anyone wants to know anything, all they have to do is ask and someone on this forum will more than likely have the answer...Isn't it grand???

[dustdevil]

I am also thankful that brokenbar is sharing her knowledge. I knew I was doing something wrong when I put cherry tomato halves in the dehydrator and ended up with nothing but a piece of curled up tomato skin;-)

[dustdevil]

Besides, who else could buy 50 gallons of wine and still walk a straight line!

[brokenbar]

Good thing I am a teetotaler! I often wonder what sales clerks thinks when I am buying all that wine? I do have to tell you, even with a lid on, the tomato's soaking in the wine smells heavenly. My porch smells rather like a brewery for three or four weeks. The UPS man always looks at me strangely but NEVER ASKS.... And I can imagine that Mr. Dustdevil your were VERY dissapointed in your cherry tomato's dried...Not much left after you suck out all the moisture. It really is too bad because the cherry's taste really good dried and have more of a "bite" I think but geeze...I would be drying tomatoes for 8 months trying to get enough finished product. They are also easy to over-dry...then you just have cherry tomato chips ! (Hmmm...might be a marketing option there! )
If you dry your tomato's the way I do, you are going to suddenly be very popular with friends, family and neighbors. This is a true statement...I cam home one day last year and there was a case of quart canning jars and a box with 50 food saver Quart bags outside my back door. A neighbor left them and left me a card that said "Please apply towards my balance owed on my share of the 2009 Dried Tomato Crop. Please Consider these items as "tomato futures"! Cracked me up...suckered me in...

[Scott]

I just got a dehydrator yesterday, and this thread was very timely. I really want to soak my tomatoes in wine, but the instructions that came with my dehydrator say to not dehydrate anything that has been soaked in alcohol. It doesn't say why though. The only thing I could think was that *MAYBE* the alcohol could start a fire by getting too hot. Any thoughts or advice?

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by Scott

I just got a dehydrator yesterday, and this thread was very timely. I really want to soak my tomatoes in wine, but the instructions that came with my dehydrator say to not dehydrate anything that has been soaked in alcohol. It doesn't say why though. The only thing I could think was that *MAYBE* the alcohol could start a fire by getting too hot. Any thoughts or advice?

I doubt seriously that a dehydrator could get hot enough but...I am no expert. Why not remove your slices form the wine solution and allow them to drain and set out for a while? The alcohol dissipates pretty quickly. I can only say that I have probably dehydrated 25,000 pounds of tomatoes over the last 10 years and I have not caught on fire yet. But you should do what you feel comfortable doing. Surely, someone on this forum has a better answer than mine?

[Scott]

I don't think I'll be satisfied until I try it with wine ;

I just wish the instructions gave a reason. It just says "Do not dehydrate foods that have been prepared with or marinated in alcohol."

I've been looking around on google, but can't find any information. I'm 90% sure it will be fine. I was also thinking it would be yummy to do bourbon soaked jerky. Your second opinion makes me much more comfortable in trying it.

[brokenbar]

Originally Posted by Scott

I don't think I'll be satisfied until I try it with wine ;

I just wish the instructions gave a reason. It just says "Do not dehydrate foods that have been prepared with or marinated in alcohol."

I've been looking around on google, but can't find any information. I'm 90% sure it will be fine. I was also thinking it would be yummy to do bourbon soaked jerky. Your second opinion makes me much more comfortable in trying it.

Ohhh...that bourbon soaked Jerky sounds good..I am a vegetarian but I dwell with carnivors...they would like that I think. Do a batch of tomatoes soaked in the wine when you are home and awake and see...I looked online also and could find nothing about alcohol and dehydrating. I am assuming that pretty much at the point where the tomatos are warmed up, the alcohol should start to dissipate. That is how it works when you cook with wine or other liquors (but that excludes a direct flame like a flambé when you torch the liquor) Give it a try...

[dustdevil]

Scott,

If your dehydrator bursts into flames when using wine, don't forget to yell "Oopah".

[instar8]

I'm betting it's just a CYA kinda thing, i can't imagine wine-soaked anything bursting into flames for any reason, when you do it deliberately you have pools of fresh wine and the alcohol fog above them.

[instar8]

You can buy booze at the dollar store in Wyoming?? Wow! And i was impressed by the drive-thru liquor stores in Colorado, and the fact that they sell beer and wine at Perkins in Canada!