After drying tomatoes, is it necesary to freeze them as well?

[eridani]

About how long do they keep?

[wildflower]

1. I store mine indefinitely in a sealed plastic container...

as long as I'm sure they're totally dry. (I find that slicing them thinly before drying helps me ensure that.)

I have no idea about freezing them; maybe someone else will chime in.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

2. Not if they're airtight

Properly dried, no food needs more than scrupulously clean and airtight containers. I have experimented with dipping in lemon juice or parboiling to stop enzymes before dehydrating or freezing to keep the colors fresh, but I've not found it worth worrying about. They will darken over time, though I can't say I've had any stick around for longer than a year. Easier just to make sure I slice evenly (thank you, OXO mandoline!) and dry completely. Dehydrated foods will rehydrate to around 90-95% of their original size, so even if they don't look perfect in the end, the flavor is always much richer than the original.

As for how long they keep, I think it's safe to assume at least a year, but as long as there's no mold, they should keep indefinitely.

I don't know how I got through my heavy garden years with only cheap plastic dehydrators (the kind with the racks that melt) because I finally invested in an Excalibur with a proper fan and thermostat and it would have made my life so easy then. I've read that you can even dehydrate using dry ice in your freezer, which sounds rather clunky, but a fun science experiment and I suspect would yield an excellent end product.

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

3. I dry halved Romas in the oven @ 175-195 degrees

w/ the door ajar. Just sprinkle a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and maybe a half tsp of E V olive oil on the cut face up. Takes about 24 hr. Stick a wad of aluminum foil where the door is supposed to depress the oven light switch and you turn off the light as well as keeping the door open just the right amount. When they're dry (a little drier than a raisin), I pack them in 16 oz mason jars and they have been great 18 mos later kept on the back bottom shelf of my fridge.

[lizziegrace]

4. I don't have a lot of storage space

but I do have a freezer. I know you don't normally freeze tomatoes that have been dried, but can you?

Thanks!

[Vinca]

5. I do. Mainly because I'm lazy.

I toss them in freezer bags as they come off the dehydrator and that's that. I'm still using some I dried a couple of years ago and they're perfectly fine.