# SUN DRIED TOMATOES



## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

It's only a few days that I am trying to follow your interesting discussions up. I am not sure that I have figured out yet how the systems functions, so, I will post my question to several forums.Sorry about that!

This year I planted two varieties of tomatoes. I had in my mind to prepare (among other things of course) sun-dried tomatoes. All my attempts have failed so far :-( 
It's such a disaster! I put them under the sun, covered by coarse sea salt. They become so salty that you cannot eat them afterwards. If I skip the sea salt they go rotten within 2 days. Another day wasps ...attacked them.
I hung them by a rope as they do in the island of Santorini. i think that I've been feeding the bees and the birds of the whole area...
Do you have any ideas about that? I begin to have doubts whether sun dried tomatoes exist or they are just tomatoes dried in the oven.
Please help me! I have about 20p of tomatoes waiting ...
There must be a way...
Thanks in advance


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Welcome all the way from Greece.

Give this a try,
Salt your tomatoes in the fridge over night in a colander,Then let sit at room temputure for a day.this will allow the moisture to begin to leach.I would then oven dry at 125 degrees for 3 hours to halt the enzymes.enzymes, protiens are denatured when dried.Thats what the birds are after.
Place the tomatoes on a rack or flat baskets layered with cheesecloth under and over the tomatoes,If you have a fan that you can aim at the tomatoes do so..this will help with airation as well as giving any birds or bees a hard time.Place in the sun..and see what happens.
Does this make sence to you?
good luck
cc


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