Has anyone ever made, homemade tomato bullion??

[Emerald]

I always have way, way, way too many tomatoes to process every year. Don't get me wrong, I love my maters and can and freeze till I'm sick of them (at the time lol) well this year I will be making a solar dehydrator (I have an electric one for back up) and am thinking that if I can make fruit rollups , then why not be able to make tomato based bullion type rollups?? If anyone has any suggestions I'm willing to try!! EM:D

[zone4sprout]

I'd love to hear about the solar dehydrator. Did you buy it or make it? I'm looking for a few dehydrators to make fruit rollups & dehydrated vegetables. I'm also interested in the tomato bullion. I'm sure someone here has experimented... I'd imagine you're talking about a dry tomato bullion such as a tomato bullion "cube"?

[Denninmi]

I don't know any reason you couldn't make such a thing -- tomato leather, more or less. You could probably come up with quite a few variations, too -- flavors like garlic, basil, etc. I imagine you could eat this as a snack food, or just rehydrate it and cook with it. Heck, it would probably even be good cut into strips and put on pizzas or tossed into pasta at the last moment before serving, just as with dried tomatoes.

Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to remember and try this myself this summer -- I have a 10 tray dehyrdrator from Sausage Makers that does a really good job (but it does suck up the electricity). Last summer, I got over 40 bushels of tomatoes. It wasn't hard using them up, since I freeze, can, and dry them, but it's always nice to have something new to do with things.

I'm a big fan of sweet ripe peppers, how about a red pepper and tomato leather?

[Emerald]

I'd love to hear about the solar dehydrator. Did you buy it or make it? I'm looking for a few dehydrators to make fruit rollups & dehydrated vegetables. I'm also interested in the tomato bullion. I'm sure someone here has experimented... I'd imagine you're talking about a dry tomato bullion such as a tomato bullion "cube"?

It is a home made one that I saw in another web site, I don't really have a plan for it but it is basically a solar heater panel (like the ones in Mother Earth News that hook up to your house or window to help with heating in the winter) that will be attached to a box that will be holding the trays from my American Harvester/ harvest maid electric dehydrator, so I am crossing my fingers that It will work.. I figure that if it starts to rain or at night I can just bring the trays in and and put them on the base in the house to continue drying, and in the winter I can just hook my "solar panel" up to the kitchen window to help on the few sunny days we get her in the wilds of Michigan.. lol

I was thinking that I could just cook my tomatoes with my celery and onions and garlic and then puree them all and then add maybe just a little more salt than I would normally use (added at the end of cooking so as not to over salt) and then maybe roll up a set amount to equal a normal bullion cube and use as you would use bullion cubes in soup or even as just a hot drink in the winter. I have used tomato bullion that is mixed with chicken bullion in the Mexican specialty foods and like it a lot but it does have a lot of salt and MSG in it.. so making my own would just have to be better for me.

[Emerald]

I don't know any reason you couldn't make such a thing -- tomato leather, more or less. You could probably come up with quite a few variations, too -- flavors like garlic, basil, etc. I imagine you could eat this as a snack food, or just rehydrate it and cook with it. Heck, it would probably even be good cut into strips and put on pizzas or tossed into pasta at the last moment before serving, just as with dried tomatoes.

Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to remember and try this myself this summer -- I have a 10 tray dehyrdrator from Sausage Makers that does a really good job (but it does suck up the electricity). Last summer, I got over 40 bushels of tomatoes. It wasn't hard using them up, since I freeze, can, and dry them, but it's always nice to have something new to do with things.

I'm a big fan of sweet ripe peppers, how about a red pepper and tomato leather?

Oh Yummy!! Those all sound like good ideas!! I have been reading all about 'leathers' as my hubby is now a diabetic and I want to make fruit leathers without the sugar (or the fake stuff either) so he can have a better snack than all the artifishel stuff(sorry all I am a very poor speller lol)
But having so many tomatoes I want to do other things with them.. I love the sun dried tomatoes but they are so expensive in the stores, so I am going to make my own.. and all these ideas just start running around in my head starting more ideas and things just snowball sometimes.. lol I have heard of just blending your dried tomatoes in a coffee grinder or just hand grinding them and then putting into a herb container so you can sprinkle them on foods for extra flavor like you would paprika.. so I have many things to think about doing this summer...
I wonder if you could just make pepper leather or if they just dry too hard? or a mix of peppers and onion and tomato? EM

[Denninmi]

I wonder if you could just make pepper leather or if they just dry too hard? or a mix of peppers and onion and tomato? EM

I don't know why you couldn't. I guess the only thing about how far you have to dry them is that anything will need to be below a certain moisture threshold in order to prevent pathogens from growing and spoiling it. I'm sure the moisture content varies with the type of produce, probably depending upon the disolved salts, minerals, sugars, starches, etc.

However, I guess if you liked a particular type of "leather" a little on the softer side, but weren't sure it would store properly without getting moldy at that texture/moisture content, you could always store it in the freezer.

Essentially, what your are describing above, depending upon the spices you put in it, if any, is either "Salsa" leather or "Marinara" leather -- I think either might be tasty. Like I said, I hope I remember this thread comes August, so I can experiment.

Something else I dried last year and really enjoyed that might be ok for your husband is dried cantaloupe. It is sweet, but not nearly as sweet as many commercially dried fruits (most of which have added sugar to keep them soft). I just sliced it thin and put it on the drier (I spray my racks with PAM so that things don't stick as bad). I let it get very dry, so that it's just barely flexible. I find it quite good. A small slice is quite long-lasting, since it's "chewy."

[Emerald]

We did watermelon one year, but its not as great as it sounded.. lol had a funny aftertaste. Not yucky but something you'd have to get used to. I am thinking of drying blueberries and strawberries and most of the berries that I have in the yard to add to his morning oatmeal. I will have to try the cantalope to see if he likes it.. he's got a really bad sweet tooth and this year ( he was diagnosed just last fall so we are still getting used to the diet changes) has been very hard.. he had to limit the size of a piece of wedding cake at the daughters wedding.. we found just a little piece of cake didn't goof him up as bad as an order of hashbrowns from one of the fast food places does.

And by the way Dear Hubby said thanks to everyone here!! As now he doesn't have to listen to me drone on about my "Odd gardening and cooking Ideas"... lol

If I am not banned from posting here by August when the tomato glut hits, I will try to remind you Denninmi to be thinking of this thread!! lol EM

[springfever]

I was so surprised at all the people in this area that has diabetes. It certainly is a struggle for them. My husband doesn't have it but a lot of his family do and we cook for them. I've had to do a lot of research and experimenting.

[Emerald]

I was so surprised at all the people in this area that has diabetes. It certainly is a struggle for them. My husband doesn't have it but a lot of his family do and we cook for them. I've had to do a lot of research and experimenting.

My hubbys sister and one niece just were diagnosed last year about 6 months before him.. but so far they are the only ones in his side of family... my side has problems with low blood sugar.. hehehe our kids should abe normal.. right?? I have also found that high blood fats tend to go hand in hand with type 2 diabetes, so watching his fat content added another page to the diet change. I have always used olive oil to cook with and by changing to real butter ( just use less) rather than the margerine made a world of differents.. his Dr. said that using some of the 'fake' stuff was like shooting fat right into your veins.. Plus adding oatmeal for breakfast most every day helps alot too. But doing some research myself.. I was amazed to find that some of the recipes on the 'diabetic' websites had more sugar than some of my own recipes.. so I just use a little common sense and try not to over do with the sweetner.. one thing I did find is that honey didn't bother his levels too much either... go figure.. EM

[tashak]

Peppers dry pretty hard. But you could always grind the dried ones into powder, then add for more flavor into your hot drink. Maybe reconstitute them first?
I've dried cantaloupe and honeydew--each is good.

[Emerald]

[QUOTE=tashak;102208]Peppers dry pretty hard. But you could always grind the dried ones into powder, then add for more flavor into your hot drink. Maybe reconstitute them first?
I've dried cantaloupe and honeydew--each is good.[/QUOTE

Is crushaw as good as cantaloupes and honeydews?? That is the new melon that I am trying this year and I have never even ate it before.. do you think it will dry well ?( only if you have grown it or eaten it lol) But maybe this is putting the horse before the cart.. I don't have the best luck in growing melons.. They do grow well and I am sure that if the deer could talk they would tell me if the pumpkins, beans, squash and melons were good... I just wish that they would leave me one to eat... last time I got one it was a very bland water melon due to 2 weeks of rain.. EM

[Denninmi]

Oh, I just love those. I've only grown the "Burpee Early Crenshaw" because it is about 20 days earlier than some of the standard varieties, which is important in my climate. The melons can be just massive, almost as big as a basketball. One thing I have found about this type of melon is that slugs really like them, and take bites out of the underside as they are close to ripening, which usually makes the whole things rot. I've found that it's a good idea to set the melon up on something like a coffe can or a couple of bricks as it gets bigger -- this discourages the slugs.

Oh, hey, I see you're in Michigan, too. You might want to start you melons indoors about 3 to 4 weeks ahead of time. It helps.

Yes, it will dry just fine. In terms of flavor, it's pretty similar to canteloupe/muskmelon, but has a bit of the honeydew texture and "fragrance" quality to it.

[Emerald]

The seeds I bought just say crenshaw, I bought them at the end of the year when all the seeds were 5 for a buck at the store.. I have started pumpkins early so I guess it won't hurt to start melons early.. Can I start my Mickylee watermelon early too?? I do have 3 seperate garden spaces so I do usually space the different kinds farther apart. I should be out there right now planting my onions and peas (I know its late but snow on the ground made me wait:o lol) Maybe the little one that I watch will help me play in the garden later.. three year olds just love to get dirty!!:D EM

[Denninmi]

No, its just about the perfect time to plant peas and onions -- I got my peas in last weekend, and the onion plants came Tuesday and are waiting in the garage. I don't know where you are in Michigan, but here in the Detroit area, the forecast for the next week looks pretty good -- not too cold, not too hot, upper 50's for highs, 20's and 30's for lows.

You can definitely start watermelons indoors, too.

One other suggestion for your melons in particular -- they REALLY like black plastic on the beds -- it really heats up the soil.

[bluesolaise]

Hi Emerald

Well, I've never made tomato leather - but it's an interesting idea,isn't it! So I checked out the book that came with the 2nd hand dehydrator I got a few years back, How to Dry Foods by Deanna Delong. She says you can make tomato leather just as you would any other fruit, but does recommend adding other vegetables, herbs etc for best flavour.

So, how does she say to make fruit leather, you ask....

Essentially just puree the ripe fruit & pour onto a suitable drying tray lined with something to prevent sticking. Plastic wrap may be used, but would need to be taped down at the sides to make pouring the puree onto it a bit easier. She says you can also use non-stick baking sheets lightly coated with vegetable oil or with a non-stick vegetable spray.

She says to remove leather from the tray while it is still warm in order to be able to roll it up.

She also says leather dried in a dehydrator is usually done in 6 -8 hours, sun drying may take one to two days....but there are many variables.

Vegetable leather should be used within 2 -3 weeks if stored at room temperature, but can be stored longer in the 'fridge or freezer.

I think if I were to do this, which I'm tempted to do this year, I'd slice the tomatoes and partially dehydrate them before pureeing them and pouring onto the drying sheets. That way the mixture won't be as runny and will be partially concentrated already...so I'd probably get more into the dryer at this point.

[Emerald]

Hi Emerald

Well, I've never made tomato leather - but it's an interesting idea,isn't it! So I checked out the book that came with the 2nd hand dehydrator I got a few years back, How to Dry Foods by Deanna Delong. She says you can make tomato leather just as you would any other fruit, but does recommend adding other vegetables, herbs etc for best flavour.


Vegetable leather should be used within 2 -3 weeks if stored at room temperature, but can be stored longer in the 'fridge or freezer.

I think if I were to do this, which I'm tempted to do this year, I'd slice the tomatoes and partially dehydrate them before pureeing them and pouring onto the drying sheets. That way the mixture won't be as runny and will be partially concentrated already...so I'd probably get more into the dryer at this point.
Thanks for all the info.. I was wondering if you added just alittle more salt to the tomato leather if it would store longer with out haveing to put it in the freezer(I did just buy a nice chest freezer this last fall they took almost $70 off the price as someone had pushed the front panel in alittle by the drain plug.. it works fine no air leaks or anything, and having a teen boy in the house and me being a klutz I am sure to make more marks and dents than that!! lol) I don't have to watch my salt yet so that is not a problem, and I want to use them camping and to add to soups so I could just not put salt in the soup till after I add the bullion..

The Hubby said that since I was wondering I should just get a nice jar of my stewed maters out and puree it and strain it and then just use my little american harvester to make a trial run before the summer time hits and I find it won't work or I don't like it.. Every once in a while that boy does earn his keep!!;):D lol So if I try it this week end I will let everyone know how it works out..

I am just hoping that the homemade solar dehydrator works out ok-- My luck I will have the cloudyest Mi summer ever!! lol

And on the idea of putting the right kind of spices and herbs in, I wonder if you could make a round pizza flavor disk of tomato leather to put right on top of pizza dough for a quicky pizza?? Maybe just spritz it with a little water to make it softer?? All these Ideas and so little know how... I must just keep trucking along.. lol

[Emerald]

Well I had the family over for pizza Sunday and I had about 1 cup of homemade sauce left-- so I put it in the electric dehydrator over nite and it has made the nicest little bit of pizza leather ever!! Next time I will hopefully have more sauce as it could have been much thicker. The flavor from just the sauce to the flavor of the leather is like nite and day! I did peel it off and turn it over to dry just a little bit more, but I think that I will like doing this.. After I play a little with just eating it or reconstuting it I will let ya'll know how the expriments are going.. I feel like Dr. Frankenstein a little!! lol

[Emerald]

Well I made the tomato leather, as trying to roll it into little balls halfway thru was just a pain in the tushy! I let it dry until crispy- and I put in my mason jar in pieces- I have taken my little wooden bat from my strainer and ground it down a bit- I may try the spice grinder next- it makes a great hot broth- you do have to let it sit for about 5 minutes, but the little pieces of tomato and celery(I didn't puree it very fine I guess:o) rehydrate nice and have great flavor, and the broth itself is yummy. It turned out better than I expected for an experiment. I will wait until I get a solar dehydrator made before I make too much more as the electric prices have more than doubled this year! But it would make a nice camping soup, or good emergency food-- I'll bet it would be great sprinkled on popcorn. I could also make many different flavors like the salsa, and pizza.

[Ajla]

Leathers and bullions, it all sounds so good, but I've never even seen a dehydrator, I wonder why? Maybe I could introduce them over here?
Anyway, does anybody have any pictures or more detailed information?
I might just have found myself a hobby for the winter months, trying to construct one!

[Emerald]

Leathers and bullions, it all sounds so good, but I've never even seen a dehydrator, I wonder why? Maybe I could introduce them over here?
Anyway, does anybody have any pictures or more detailed information?
I might just have found myself a hobby for the winter months, trying to construct one!

There was a good article in the Mother Earth News this last issue..
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2008-08-01/How-To-Dry-Food.aspx
If you check out the image gallery the dehydrator in the parsley drying picture is the same one that I have, but it does show a few different ones in the picture. If you look thru the archives at this site it has many different articles on dehydrators and drying foods. even how to make a solar dehydrator I have heard of folks who make a large box and put a couple of light bulbs and a small fan in it to dry stuff-- you just make slide in mesh trays. Once you read about the different ways other folks dry food to keep it for winter, then you can make up your own type of dehydrator-- Like if you heat with wood maybe a box near your wood stove- you'd have to turn the trays for even drying but it could work!

[Ajla]

Thank you Emerald, I see I'll have a lot of reading to do, but it all looks very interesting.
Added it to my favourites, subscribed to Mother Earth Newsletter.
But as the sun is shining I'll go to the garden first!