Tomato Varieties for Drying

Determinate Versus Indeterminate

• Tomatoes that bear a ripe crop all at the same time are "determinate" varieties. "Indeterminate" tomatoes bear fruit all summer long once they start flowering. If you're growing the tomatoes and have space for several plants, indeterminate tomatoes would be a good choice for your garden. However, if you have space for only a few tomato plants, determinate tomatoes are a better choice. You'll have enough at one time for a crop to dry. Early Girl is a variety of indeterminate tomatoes that have good flavor. Husky Red Hybrid is a variety of determinate tomatoes suited to drying.

Meaty

• Tomatoes vary as to how much flesh they have in relation to juice. Since juice is mostly water, a meaty tomato dries faster than a juicy one. Quick drying is important since the tomato may sour before it dries. Plum tomatoes have fewer seeds than other varieties as well. Roma, a plum tomato, has thick flesh so does Oroma and Saucy varieties. Roma tomatoes are used to make tomato sauces and pastes. They are also commonly used for drying.

Small

• Cherry and grape tomatoes dry whole, like raisins. Small tomatoes dry in easily manageable halves. Scoop out the seeds and the tomatoes are ready to dry. Large tomatoes need to be cut in slices and the slices then cut in half or quarters. Tiny Tim, Cherry Gold and Red Robin are cherry tomatoes cultivars for drying.

Flavor

• One of the advantages of drying tomatoes is concentrating the flavors. Light-colored tomatoes -- those that ripen yellow, white and pink -- have a milder, less acidic flavor than red tomatoes and are sweeter. If you like your tomatoes on the sweet side, select lighter colors or a red variety that is sweeter, such as Sweet 100. In any case, choose tomatoes that are at the peak of ripeness and flavor. Principe Borghese is recommended for drying by "Sunset" magazine. So are Viva Italia and San Marzano.

Methods of Drying

• A dehydrator uses a heating element and a fan to quickly dry tomatoes. The sun is a natural method of drying as long as the weather isn't too humid. Spread the tomatoes on a metal grid, a cake rack works well. Place the grid on a cookie sheet. Cover with cheesecloth and place in the sun. A conventional oven dries the tomatoes at very low heat. Don't be impatient and raise the temperature. You'll end up cooking the tomatoes instead of drying them.