Rosey the Riveter

Monday, January 30, 2012

Cleaning out the Pantry


I have had these large cans of whole tomatoes in the pantry for way too long (as in years, not months.)  Since storage space is such a concern here (we left a 1,000 sf basement and now have none), I decided enough was enough.  Time to dehydrate and make some more space in the pantry.

I pureed two cans in the blender and decided it was too thin... so I had to cook it down.

Before I pureed the rest of them, I drained out the liquid first.  That made all the difference.

Then I spread a thin layer on the dehydrator sheet and let it go overnight.

In the morning, perfectly dehydrated tomato leather that peeled right off in one piece.

Next step, return to the food processor to grind it up.  I crumbled the big sheets to make them fit.

All six tomato cans now fit in a single pint jar!

The tomato seasoning can be added to soups, chilis, meatloaf, etc. or reconstituted to make tomato paste or tomato sauce.

And I have more shelf space in the pantry.  Win-win!

2 comments:

  1. Great idea, thanks for the pics and the ideas of how to use them. Cleaning off my shelves of older/out of date can goods. I have never done tomatoes but love the idea of having them in powder form. I am new to dehydrating and loving my Excalibur.

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  2. I used the powder today for the first time in a new BBQ Sauce recipe. So handy!

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