Dehydrated Cherry Tomatoes – Super Easy

Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are easy and forgiving.  simply wash your tomatoes and slice them.

 

Place them cut side up on your dehydrator racks.  Be sure and allow plenty of room for air to circulate around them.

I dry mine around 115 º  to 120º. Usually, they are done overnight. But that time may vary, depending on your machine. Just as a reminder, here are some things you need to know about drying times.

 

Caution: if you dry your tomatoes at too high a temperature, you can develop case hardening.  Cherry tomatoes are very moist. Dry them at a lower temp to avoid this problem. 

There are a number of variables that affect how long it takes to dry your food.

• Moisture content in the food – this may vary from variety to variety or crop to crop. It may also vary depending on how much rain your garden has had.
• Size and thickness of the pieces of food.  The larger and thicker the food, the longer it will take to dry.
• Ambient humidity where you live.  It takes longer to dry the same item in humid Florida than it does to dry it in arid Arizona.
• The kind of dehydrator you have. There can be variations in the actual temperature (even if the thermostat says a particular temperature) and in the amount of air blowing through the machine.
• Sugar content will affect drying time.  The more sugar, the longer it takes to dry. Your food should not be sticky.  If it is, simply continue drying until the stickiness goes away. 

When dried, they really shrivel up.  But don’t worry about it.  that’s a good thing. Usually, cherry tomatoes will be a bit crispy.  High sugar content may make them a bit leathery.

Uses for dehydrated cherry tomatoes:

• Munch ‘em for a nutritious snack
• Crush or chop them into salads for salad sprinkles
• Rehydrate and use in any recipe you would normally use them.