Gayle Williford, Food Systems and Safety / 4-H Agent, Berkeley County
Your mid-summer home garden is pumping out vegetables faster than you can harvest them. The cherry tomatoes are piling up on your kitchen counter. What can you do with them? Don’t waste them.
Cherry tomatoes are very versatile. They can be used as garnishes, skewered, and grilled, served raw, or cooked in a number of ways. They can also be dried and pickled. And of course, they can be eaten as a healthy, low calorie, Vitamin C-rich snack.
Make your own oven-dried (equivalent to sun dried) cherry tomatoes by placing 2 cups of halved tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 200F oven for 4 ½ to 5 hours. Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt if desired. The finished product should be dry with a leathery texture. These can be reconstituted in boiling water for 30 minutes or until pliable. Drain, reserve liquid for another use, and use tomatoes as desired. To reconstitute in oil, cover with a good quality oil and steep for 24 hours covered in a jar. Drain, pat dry and use as desired. Store flavored oil in refrigerator and use later for cooking or dressing salads.
If desired, add other herbs and spices to the tomatoes before drying. Some easy ideas for using them are:
Use as a pizza topping with fresh basil, mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Chop and add to pasta salad made with arugula, cubed Asiago cheese with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Add a handful to infuse extra flavor to a tomato-based dish like taco soup.
Find more information about this and other types of tomatoes in HGIC Fact Sheet 4257 – Using and Storing Tomatoes .
Contact your local county extension office for more information.
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