What is your favorite tomato for drying?

[MuddyToes]

So far, my favorite dried tomatoes are black plum and Jaune Flammee. Black plum did great for me the first year and fruits were a little larger than a cherry, almost plum-sized. The next year the plant was sickly all season (totally my fault) and the fruits were still plum-shaped but smaller and split like crazy. I ordered both plants from a nursery.

Jaune Flammee has been a sturdy little plant and steady producer. If I gave it a bigger container, it would probably give more fruit.

Already thinking ahead to next year....

Maybe a paste like Black Russian or Costoluto Genovese? I've never had either. I have read Brokenbar's posts in archives regarding her sundried tomatoes and preference for CG. Or perhaps I should try a traditional drying tomato like Principe Borghese?

What do you recommend?

[JRinPA]

I have not dried a whole lot or very successfully. I don't add much in the way of spices.

Principe Borghese I tried last year. They were small and somewhat firm and numerous....but just tasted bland to us. We dehydrated some but I can't say they were worth eating after or before. Most went into sauce/soup, and honestly I think it they devalued them a bit!

Not a repeat in this garden, though they were incredibly prolific.

The best dried I have done is sunsugars and other cherry tomatoes. Sliced in half and dried, like little tomato raisins; I call them cherry to-mazins!

[Nan_PA_6b]

Yellow Pear cut in half and dried into crispy chips. Without the water, the flavor is concentrated nicely. Used in place of potato chips.

Nan

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by MuddyToes

So far, my favorite dried tomatoes are black plum and Jaune Flammee. Black plum did great for me the first year and fruits were a little larger than a cherry, almost plum-sized. The next year the plant was sickly all season (totally my fault) and the fruits were still plum-shaped but smaller and split like crazy. I ordered both plants from a nursery.



Jaune Flammee has been a sturdy little plant and steady producer. If I gave it a bigger container, it would probably give more fruit.



Already thinking ahead to next year....



Maybe a paste like Black Russian or Costoluto Genovese? I've never had either. I have read Brokenbar's posts in archives regarding her sundried tomatoes and preference for CG. Or perhaps I should try a traditional drying tomato like Principe Borghese?



What do you recommend?

From what notes I saved, Brokenbar used CG for sauce, not drying. They are too seeding and heavy on the gel for drying, but they, along with all their other ribbed oblate cousins, are very high producers and make for a very tasty tomato sauce.

You really want meaty tomatoes for drying. If looking for something you can just slice in half and dry, give Heidi a try. It's super dense, super meaty, and really piles on the fruit, even when grown in a grow bag. Otherwise look for pastes that are described as dry, meaty, and with little to no seeds and gel.

[Labradors2]

I dried a ton of halved cherry tomatoes, various varieties. To use them, I grab a handful and toss them in stews, soups, etc. They are absolutely delicious and always add pizzazz!

Linda

[Dak]

I used Brokenbar's red wine recipe to dry Amish Paste, I thought they turned out really well. This year I hope to do the same with Santa Maria.

[MuddyToes]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will try drying some of the Heidi that I have ripening now.

Agreed, JR, Sunsugar and Sungold make delicious "to-mazin's". My daughter loves them. Blush worked out well, too.

[clkeiper]

I can see how sungold would make an easy one to dry. every one splits before you can eat them. I was just thinking this as I was picking tomatoes last week. those would work well for drying. I cant pick them for selling since they all split but drying...yum! I have just been drying anything that is a bit too ripe to sell. greenhouse varieties actually seem to do do better than heirlooms as they are not as juicy. I use my jerky tray to cut them into uniform slices and sprinkle with salt pepper and garlic.

[StephenCoote]

My wife and I love to have dried tomatoes in the pantry. The main way we use them is on pizzas. Our pizzas are made 'from scratch' using a yeast dough. I like to ensure that the dried tomatoes and any bacon we might have on the pizza sit tight against the dough and are well-covered with cheese so that they don't go hard or burn.

I dry any available tomato and the results are generally pretty acceptable. However I too am on the quest for the best drying variety. Not only should it dry well, it should be a healthy, reliable and prolific plant with fruit that tastes good raw.

Last season I grew Principe Borghese and, like you, I found that it wasn't all that special despite the rave reviews that seem to get repeated all around the internet. I also grew Grappoli d'Inverno - reputedly a variety used for drying on the vine - but it didn't seem to offer any advantages over other varieties in the garden. I suppose I should try growing them for several seasons before writing them off... but with the hundreds of other varieties out there I'm more inclined to give these others a go.

I agree with folks who say that a meaty (less juicy) fruit is better for drying. This makes sense because if there is less watery pulp in the fruit, it should dry quicker and there should be a greater volume of usable fruit at the end of the process. This season I'm trying two types that may be in this category (although the reviews are mixed). One is Amish Paste, the other is a strain of Orange Roma which has been grown locally for a while.

If I were forced to select just two varieties of tomato for my garden, I would grow Stupice and Tommy Toe. Both have been reliable plants and their fruit is very acceptable. Tommy Toe taste pretty good whatever you do with them. And while the Stupice I grow here aren't that marvellous to eat straight off the vine, they are wonderful cooked and OK when dried.

[MuddyToes]

Originally Posted by StephenCoote

My wife and I love to have dried tomatoes in the pantry. The main way we use them is on pizzas. Our pizzas are made 'from scratch' using a yeast dough. I like to ensure that the dried tomatoes and any bacon we might have on the pizza sit tight against the dough and are well-covered with cheese so that they don't go hard or burn.

Yup, that's my favorite way to use the dried tomatoes, too. I found that putting them into a mug of hot water for a few minutes before putting them on the pizza kept them from turning into cinders.

The dried tomatoes are an especially good topping when I use pesto for sauce. It's kind of an upside-down pizza. Instead of tomato sauce first, then herbs on top, it's herbs on the bottom and tomatoes on top. Either way, I love a really good pie! Yum.

[StephenCoote]

That's a good idea to soak them first MuddyToes. Must try that. I wouldn't have to be so careful to cover them that way. The concentrated tomato flavor in the pizza is really something special.

[FarmerShawn]

I dry any tomato that didn't sell at market; they all dry wonderfully. But the most surprising, fruity flavor comes from Blush, one of the Artisan cherry varieties. My neighbor says it's like eating a dried apricot. I tried Brokenbar's recipe, and while it was good, I decided I like them best just sprinkled with a little sea salt. It's a lot easier, too! Although I have also really enjoyed sprinkling the sliced pieces with Memphis Rub, like you'd use for ribs or pulled pork, smoking them with a cool (160 degree) smoke, then drying them. Now that's a snack you can sink your teeth into! Or, season with a combo of garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and basil, salt, pepper, and hot pepper powder, smoked, then dried. Juliets are a nice sized tomato for dried snack.

[JRinPA]

I make pizza from scratch as well. I don't make the mozzarella, but sometimes I will use store bought pepperoni and other times I use my venison pepperoni or sausage. I have not really considered putting dried tomatoes on. The sauce is already full of garden tomatoes, so topping with tomatoes seems redundant. Maybe on a white pizza, but I've never craved one.

Mostly I eat dried tomatoes straight from the ziploc bag, as a snack/trail mix thrown in my vest while hunting. Also I tried some as the tomato component of a spicy omelet I make, but I prefer a whole frozen tomato for that.