Making tomato powder: start by partly-filling your blender or food processor with COMPLETELY dried tomatoes.
Run blender until ground to a powder. I usually add a tablespoon of cornstarch to this, to help absorb moisture so they don't clump during- or after- storage.
Pour into a canning jar or some other airtight container.
Label the jar with the year and what's in it. My label reminds me that there's a little bit of cornstarch in it. Store someplace cool and dark for the best shelf life. It should retain most of the vitamins for a year, and the calories and minerals for longer than that. If you add an oxygen packet, use a new canning lid, and screw the ring on tight, the oxygen absorbtion will create a seal. I don't know how much longer the powder will store with the oxygen removed, but I figure it's got to be at least double or triple.
One use for your tomato powder- this is going to be pizza sauce, as soon as the hot water is added. For 8 ounces of sauce, use 1/4 cup tomato powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, a few sprinkles each of garlic powder, black pepper, basil, and oregano, and a few fennel seeds if you like. Stir in 1/2 cup hot water, then let it sit for a few minutes.
Instead of canning tomatoes, I've started dehydrating them. This was really handy when I first had too many tomatoes to eat, but not enough for a full canning batch. Once they're REALLY dried, I run them through the blender or food processor to make powder. My kids can do all the cutting, then load them on the trays. I fill a quart jar, add an oxygen packet (from the Church cannery), put on a new lid, screw on a ring, and they seal within about twenty minutes. Six quarts' worth of tomatoes fit in one quart jar, this way.
Use the powder in place of any tomato product- tomato paste, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, whatever you need.
It takes 1/4 c. powder, 1/2 c. hot water, and 1/8- 1/4 tsp. salt to yield one 8-oz can of tomato sauce. Add spices to turn it into pizza sauce.
More details on making the powder: if the tomatoes are small (cherry tomato size, I cut them in halves or quarters, otherwise I slice them about 1/4" thick. Dry until they are completely dried. I fill the blender (food processor would work, but I don't have one) to about the 4-cup mark, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to act as a moisture absorber during storage (optional), and turn it on until well powdered. To store, I've been putting them in canning jars, adding an oxygen packet, then topping with a new lid and a jar ring. This way, they seal.
It is not necessary to use the oxygen packet, and I don't have facts on how much it extends the shelf life. Most dehydrating books say that you still have maximum vitamin content in dehydrated for for one year, and that's without the packet. My line of reasoning is that taking out the oxygen should at least double or triple the shelf life, plus sealing the jar keeps humidity out. Just make sure there is no moisture in your food before powdering it, or it will clump and maybe mold. It often clumps after opening a jar, when I keep it in my cooking cupboard, but it's still completely usable, and the cornstarch can help prevent clumping. When drying, though, the essentials are to get the food as dry as possible, and store it at least fairly airtight, dark and cool is ideal.
To use tomato powder , I usually just toss in enough to 'make it taste right" into whatever soup I'm making, but if you want conversions, here's what I've figured out:
one 6-oz can of tomato paste: 1/4 c. tomato powder, 1/4 c. hot water, 1/4 tsp. salt
8-oz can of tomato sauce: 1/4 c. powder, 1/2 cup hot water, 1/4 tsp. salt
14-16-oz can crushed tomatoes: 1/4 c. powder, 3/4 c. hot water, 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. tomato juice: 2-4 Tbsp powder, just under 1 cup hot water, 1/16-1/8 tsp. salt
So the tomato powder-to-water ratio for each one is:
Tomato paste: 1:1
Tomato Sauce 1:2
Crushed tomatoes: 1:3
Tomato juice: 1:4-8
And, of course, you may add any herbs or spices you like.
Use the powder in place of any tomato product- tomato paste, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, whatever you need.
It takes 1/4 c. powder, 1/2 c. hot water, and 1/8- 1/4 tsp. salt to yield one 8-oz can of tomato sauce. Add spices to turn it into pizza sauce.
More details on making the powder: if the tomatoes are small (cherry tomato size, I cut them in halves or quarters, otherwise I slice them about 1/4" thick. Dry until they are completely dried. I fill the blender (food processor would work, but I don't have one) to about the 4-cup mark, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to act as a moisture absorber during storage (optional), and turn it on until well powdered. To store, I've been putting them in canning jars, adding an oxygen packet, then topping with a new lid and a jar ring. This way, they seal.
It is not necessary to use the oxygen packet, and I don't have facts on how much it extends the shelf life. Most dehydrating books say that you still have maximum vitamin content in dehydrated for for one year, and that's without the packet. My line of reasoning is that taking out the oxygen should at least double or triple the shelf life, plus sealing the jar keeps humidity out. Just make sure there is no moisture in your food before powdering it, or it will clump and maybe mold. It often clumps after opening a jar, when I keep it in my cooking cupboard, but it's still completely usable, and the cornstarch can help prevent clumping. When drying, though, the essentials are to get the food as dry as possible, and store it at least fairly airtight, dark and cool is ideal.
To use tomato powder , I usually just toss in enough to 'make it taste right" into whatever soup I'm making, but if you want conversions, here's what I've figured out:
one 6-oz can of tomato paste: 1/4 c. tomato powder, 1/4 c. hot water, 1/4 tsp. salt
8-oz can of tomato sauce: 1/4 c. powder, 1/2 cup hot water, 1/4 tsp. salt
14-16-oz can crushed tomatoes: 1/4 c. powder, 3/4 c. hot water, 1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. tomato juice: 2-4 Tbsp powder, just under 1 cup hot water, 1/16-1/8 tsp. salt
So the tomato powder-to-water ratio for each one is:
Tomato paste: 1:1
Tomato Sauce 1:2
Crushed tomatoes: 1:3
Tomato juice: 1:4-8
And, of course, you may add any herbs or spices you like.
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