Tomato Powder

a pint of tomato powder

 With the end of the busiest growing season we find ourselves with an abundance of unripe green tomatoes.  As an alternative to filling our shelves with can after can of tomato sauce, Joe and I opted to try something different.  We would dry and pulverize the last of the garden tomatoes.  We spent a fair amount of time at our sink cutting and seeding tomatoes.  It was time consuming, but companionable work. 

green cherry tomatoes

ripe cherry tomatoes

putting tomatoes onto dryer rack

 The food dehydrator was filled to capacity with tomatoes of different variety and ripeness.  The smaller pieces dried faster and were removed while the thicker pieces were left to dry completely. 

tomatoes in the dehydrator

 As the tomatoes dried, I put them in a large zippy bag in the freezer.  According to Mary Bell in her book Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Book, freezing fruits and vegetables prior to blending them into a powder will give better results (click here for a link to this book on Amazon). 

dehydrated tomatoes

ready for the blender

 The tomatoes ground into a powder in our Vitamix blender quite nicely.  All those tomatoes fit into a pint jar that now sits happily in our pantry.  I plan to use this lovely powder to make soup, add it to bread recipes, stir fries, etc.  Since it is largely made up of green tomatoes, I will have to remember to flavor the dishes I prepare with it to account for a more tart tomato taste. 

tomato powder