For years, Principe Borgese has been touted as the "Ultimate Drying Tomato" (and I have absolutely no idea why anyone would think so.) And I will agree, area and weather makes a difference but we were discussing this on a tomato forum and most said what I said, seedy, average taste and too much trouble. I will give you a list of what I grow. I want Red, BIG, meaty, dry, nearly seedless and early-mid-season. Chefs are starting to ask for the "blacks" because they read something again ($#&@&^$*$) about how the blacks were supposed to have this "salty, smokey, earthy" flavor (I say bah humbug...they taste just the same as any others but I am happy to accomodate them and double the price which they happily pay!) I grow these: Opalka Chinese Federle Amish Paste Carol Chyko Denofrios German (these are HUGE-ripen early and have almost no seeds) Leatha's Italian Russo Sicilian Togeta Big Black Heart (I received in trade, un-named-HUGE, Dry few seeds) Sicilian Saucer Memorial Polish Paste I have about five hundred plants or more (always more.. ) I try at least 3 to 10 new varieties each year. They have to have large fruit, few seeds, dry flesh, ripen fairly early and be tough...we get a lot of wind and late spring cool nights in Wyoming. It takes so many ripe tomatoes to dry 1 pound of product, big and meaty are just absolutely the only way to go. I also soak my sliced tomatoes in Red Wine for 24 hours prior to drying and watery, seedy, less meaty tomatoes fall apart too easily in the soaking process. Every variety listed above has passed muster and has become an official member of my "herd", As I am moving to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico this spring for good (we spent part of last year remodeling our house down there) I will probably have to grow entirely different varieties (a chilling thought....) But, I will certainly have a longer growing season... For sauce...ONLY Costoluto Genovese...it comes through the tomato mill practically finished sauce and the flavor is great. This is a tomato that does not taste so hot fresh but the cooking process changes the chemistry. "Someone who knows" on the tomato forum says: I fully agree with your comments on Costoluto Genovese. The sauce is phenomenal. Tomatoes are supposedly high in the flavor component called "Umami" Saucing and dehydrating concentrates umami flavor. Glutamate has been identified as the organic component responsible for umami flavor in tomatoes, and it has been found that glutamate concentration varies with variables such as variety and ripeness. My suspicion is that c.g. would be high in glutamate, and that heating somehow activates or enhances it. As an interesting note, supposedly glutamate is concentrated most in the seeds and pulp. When making fresh sauce for myself I leave the seeds and pulp on. If i'm cooking for others I remove the skins. I'm growing several hearts this year plus Costoluto Fiorentino and another called Canestrino#1 which supposedly also tastes much better sauced than fresh. So there you go.

Dave, Thanks for reply! I'm more concerned about the tomato/vinegar ratio than adding the pepper powder. So... lots more tomato powder than vinegar powder... right? Making up a care package for a good friend of mine bday on Thurs to send tomorrow. To me, the tomato powder is not as 'tomato tasty' as had thought would be. I just sprinkled it on & it might need some heat to bring out the flavor?

Eileen, all you have to do is pick all your green ones, bring them in the house and they will all ripen/turn red. You can also pull the whole plant out of the ground and hang it in a garage or barn and they will all continue to ripen. To encourage ripening on the vine outside, discontinue watering. I don't know if you could dry green ones (can't see why not) but they sure would be bitter and I don't know what you would use them for. You could use fresh green ones for salsa verde or fried green tomatoes. Earl, smaller types I slice length wise. Bigger types, stem end down to bottom. I grow only paste types so few seeds, which I remove most of. If you are using tom's with a lot of seeds, you should probably remove them as they get pretty bitter. And I know seeding tomatoes (other than in a squeezo or something) is a huge pain-in-the-butt! Cutting slices that are the same thickness is important because then your slices will dry at a similar rate of speed and you don't have to keep picking through the trays on the dehydrator taking out the ones that dried the quickest. Also, I have a commercial dehydrator so mine has 1/2" metal squares. I spray the trays with pam to avoid sticking. Most home dehydrators have teflon trays but if not, the Pam works really well.

I copied this from somewhere on the GW forums, probably Harvest, and I'm sorry I don't know who to attribute it to. If you're out there please take credit because it's a great technique. And please, throw out that jar you have been playing with. It sounds like it's probably a biohazard by now. DRIED TOMATOES Wash, stem and slice each tomato into 1/4" thick slices. Place in a very large bowl or clean bucket and cover with cheap red wine. I use Merlot but if you prefer something else, knock yourself out. I have a friend that swears by cheap Chianti! Soak tomato slices 24 hours in the wine. Drain well. Lay tomatoes just touching on dehydrator shelves or on screen in your sun-drying apparatus. Sprinkle each slice with a mixture containing equal parts of dried basil-oregano-parsley and then sprinkle each slice with Kosher Salt. You may choose to forego the salt if you wish but tomatoes will take longer to dry. Dry tomatoes until they are firm and leatherlike with no moisture pockets, but NOT brittle. (If you get them too dry, soak them in lemon juice for a few minutes.) To store, place in vacuum bags or ziplock bags and freeze. IMPORTANT!!! If you will be storing sun-dried tomatoes in Olive oil you !!!MUST!!! dip each slice in vinegar before adding to oil. To pack in oil: Dip each tomato into a small dish of white wine vinegar. Shake off the excess vinegar and pack them in olive oil adding 1/4 cup red wine. For tomatoes in oil I am selling, I put the tomatoes into the oil two weeks ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Make sure they are completely immersed in the oil. When the jar is full, cap it tightly. I use my vacuum sealer to seal the canning lids on. Store at *cool* room temperature for at least a month before using. They may be stored in the refrigerator, but the oil will solidify at refrigerator temperatures (it quickly reliquifies at room temperature however). As tomatoes are removed from the jar, add more olive oil as necessary to keep the remaining tomatoes covered. I have stored oil-packed tomatoes in my root cellar for over a year. . I have tried a number of methods to pack the tomatoes in oil, but the vinegar treatment is the difference between a good dried tomato and a great one. It is also important from a food safety standpoint, as it acidifies the oil and discourages growth of bacteria and mold. Soaking in the wine also acidifies them. ****** WARNING ******** Do *NOT* add fresh garlic cloves or fresh herbs of any kind to oil-packed dried tomatoes, UNLESS you store them in the refrigerator and plan on using them within 7 days. Garlic is a low-acid food which, when placed in oil, creates a low-acid anaerobic environment just perfect growth medium for botulinum bacteria if the mixture is not refrigerated. Be safe and add your garlic to the dried tomatoes as part of the recipe for them *after* they come out of the oil. Steve