So far, the food dehydrator has created opportunities for dealing with bumper crops of cherry tomatoes and peppers. We haven’t used it for many other things, but I’m looking forward to trying some new things next year and beyond.
One thing I read about was that you could make tomato powder with the ends after slicing or when a tomato gets a little too soft to be used on a sandwich.
We harvested quite a few green ones at the end of the season and they are ripening in the greenhouse and also in the garage. It still isn’t possible to use them all at once when they are ready to be sliced, so I have made a couple of trays of extra dry toms and crushed them into powder.
The powder itself is irritating to the nose and eyes because it is incredibly fine and hovers in a cloud around the container you are crushing it in. I found myself stifling a sneeze within seconds.
In the end, the process creates a shelf-stable version of tomatoes that would otherwise go to waste and with a little water added, they can make tomato paste or sauce. It can also be sprinkled as a seasoning or garnish.
As an experiment, I thought I’d mix some with a dab of mayonnaise and see what a tomato-based mayo spread might taste like.
I used about a half teaspoon to a tablespoon of mayo. It is a very fine powder, but when introduced into the mayonnaise and mixed in, it gets chunkier and creates little red flecks. I spread it on a cracker for a taste test.
It tastes pretty fancy. The flavor of the tomato comes through in a sweetness that is unexpected but tasty. Overall, I think it’s a success, but I need to make a larger-scale test in the context of a meal.
I like the idea of sprinkling it like paprika on deviled eggs or making it into a spread like this – maybe with other added seasonings like basil as well.