Homemade Tomato Paste

[CT_Shooter]

Each year we plant a few Cherry and/or Grape tomato plants and each year we also have about a dozen of them that volunteer by sprouting anywhere in the vicinity of the garden. We almost always transplant at least one of those to reward mother nature for her persistence. We did that this year, too. I moved one to a large pot on the deck, where it thrived and produced lots of tomatoes, just like those we purposely planted.

Cherry and grape tomato plants are very prolific. We always get many more than we can eat fresh, so we preserve them with our dehydrator. We dry many of them to the consistency of raisins and store them covered in olive oil in mason jars. These are amazing little bullets of tomato flavor that we use in salads and as ingredients in recipes.

We also dry many of them for a bit longer, until they are hard and crisp, and then grind them in the blender to make a powder. The powder can then be mixed one to one with water to make a paste or it can be added directly to a recipe as is.

Fresh sliced tomatoes on dehydrator trays

Dried tomatoes ready to pulverize

Powdered tomatoes for making paste