Hello! If there is a better place to post this, please let me know, but I thought you all might know.
We've been canning the tomatoes for a while now. As our garden is dwindling, there haven't been enough ripe tomatoes at once, so I've been trying out our dehydrator.
I know the dried tomatoes are shelf stable in an air tight container, but I'm wondering about putting them in a jar with olive oil and some spices. (Similar to the sun-dried tomatoes you can get from the store.)
My initial thought was that they would need refrigerated, but the oil solidified, so they won't marinade like I hoped. Since the dried tomatoes and olive oil are both shelf stable on their own, would these be ok as is?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
by InsertCr3ativeName
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Editing to add:
The store bought jars do not do this in the fridge.
They most likely use canola oil instead of olive. The store bought mozzarella I buy is kept in the fridge and does not solidify at all. I tried doing the same with olive without looking at the ingredients first and it solidified. After looking it’s canola.
This is not shelf stable because it is the perfect breeding ground for botulism. You can get other kinds of oils that won’t set up at fridge temps if that’s your concern, additionally you can leave it out of the fridge for like 10 to 15 minutes for the oil to desolidify
I freeze my dehydrated tomatoes. I can thaw them and use them as dry tomatoes, or I can toss a meal’s worth into a jar of olive oil in the fridge 24 hours before I want to cook with them.
You can freeze your tomatoes as they are coming in from the garden until you have enough to make a batch of sauce. I have more uses for sauce than I would for dehydrated tomatoes. You can also leave them dried and reconstitute them in oil (for fridge storage) one jar at a time, as you need them.