Dehydrating cherry tomatoes

[California Gardener]

I read somewhere on this forum about someone dehydrating cherry tomatoes. It sounded great to me since I have lots coming in right now. I ran out and bought a dehydrator and two books on the topic. None of the books say anything about cherry tomatoes--just sliding and dehydrating the large tomatoes.

Any of you have suggestions for this neophyte? Thanks!

CG

[southernfried]

Cherry tomatoes dry very well. In fact, I have had better luck drying the cherries than the regular tomatoes. I just cut them in half and drizzle with olive oil. Sometimes I add Italian spices, always a little salt to taste. Dry until leathery, but not brittle.

[Denninmi]

Yup, like Southernfried said above, only advice I can give is they dry much faster if you cut them in half.

[Blanesgarden]

Got my attention...lets see it!

[Barryblushes]

I'd like to try this,as I have lots of cherries.Do you dry them directly on the trays ,or use plastic wrap,etc? And how long do you dry them for about? Thanks. Barry

[Train]

Ya!
It just occurred to me that you can dehydrate garlic!
If you do it just right and dry it enough the dang
stuff won't stink so bad.
Heheh
Try it, you'll like it!
Train

[California Gardener]

Based on everyone's advice, I just tried it. They are yummy!

I didn't quite get them totally dry. I made a mistake and started them at Noon, not realizing how long they would take. At 11:30 pm I had to go to sleep so I stopped them and refrigerated them. Next time I'll know to allow 12+ hours.

But they sure are delicious--mine were like candy. I dried Sun Gold, Sun Sugar, Black Cherry, White Cherry, Sweet Millionaire. It's amazing there were any left to put in the refrigerator. Everytime I opened the dehydrator to check on them, I scarfed a bunch of them down.

Also tried slices of Carbon and Kellogg's Breakfast--definitely winners.

Thanks to everyone who provided me suggestions. Now I've got to figure out what else I want to dry. The dehydrator came with 4 trays and I bought 8 more. Gotta fill 12 trays next time.

[southernfried]

I don't put down plastic wrap, just place the toms directly on the trays, (cut side up.) I rub a little olive oil on the trays by putting some on a paper towel. The don't stick. I tried using cooking spray, but it was messy and went everywhere when I sprayed.

I would post pics, but my digital camera died and I have not figured out what kind I want to replace it with. I've been reading reviews for a while...leaning toward Olympus. Can't decide.

[evilsunflower]

I don't use plastic wrap, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of the trays? I do start them drying with the cut side up; it's Much less messy that way. Then flip them over after a while when they're kind of half dried. I don't do olive oil or anything, I just love them by themselves. I don't dry them all the way out either, it seems like it would take forever. They end up kind of like raisins. Since they're not totally dry I keep them in the freezer, although I'm not sure that's absolutely necessary. Such a tasty snack in the middle of winter!