Every now and then I give in to my culinary scientist / urban homesteader fantasy aspirations and try a less than practical cooking project just to see if I can, because it seems, well, interesting and useful and challenging. That would be the case with this surprisingly delicious Tomato Powder; less of a recipe, and more of an invitation to try a successful experiment turned essential pantry item.
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Over the last while in popular cooking culture I have noticed the increasing popularity of dried vegetable powders for culinary use, in everything from smoothies to cooked dishes, and of course food dehydration in general is a technique as old as human culture itself. Not currently owning a dehydrator, I initially considered myself exempt from the temptation to create any of these powders, but the idea kept popping up in my thoughts nonetheless. As an urban backyard food grower, the idea of turning surplus or less than prime produce into something usable later on in the year especially appealed to me. As a huge fan of in-season tomatoes, the idea of preserving the intoxicating seasonal flavour and aroma of ripe tomatoes, for use when we descend into the doldrums of winter tomato blahness, began to take hold in my imagination.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Washed-Tomatoes.jpg)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Tomatoes-on-cutting-board.jpg)
Not having grown any tomatoes myself this year in my own garden, I waited until the end of the growing season to buy a big basket of imperfect organic tomatoes from my local farmers market when they were both plentiful and cheap; perfectly delicious and suitable for eating or cooking, but certainly nothing to look at. Given my dehydrator free status, and being lucky enough to have an oven with a convection dehydration setting, I set out to dehydrate a huge mound of tomatoes and turn them into Tomato Powder.
How to make your own Tomato Powder
After washing and drying my tomatoes, I removed larger stems or blemishes with a small paring knife, but otherwise left the tomatoes whole before cutting, and produced very little waste when slicing the tomatoes, which satisfyingly maintained the ethos of my little experiment. When slicing the tomatoes, I attempted to slice them as evenly and thinly as possible while still keeping the slices intact for easier handling.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Cut-Tomatoes.jpg)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Slices-on-tray.jpg)
I preheated my oven to its dehydration setting of 170℃, and lined a few full size baking trays with compostable parchment paper. I spread the slices on the trays, amused by the idea of making a tomato jigsaw puzzle as I did so, leaving a small gap between slices to allow for air circulation.
Once in the oven, I left the trays of tomato slices to dehydrate for what seemed an eternity (I forgot to time it), while I mulled over how I could calculate how much energy this whole little endeavour was using, and if it would be more or less energy than using a much smaller electric dehydrator multiple times over for the same amount of tomatoes. (I haven’t yet figured that out in case you are wondering!)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Dried-close-up.jpg)
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Dried-slice.jpg)
Once dried to a literal crisp, I let the trays of dehydrated tomato slices come to room temperature, and then set about to turn my dried tomato chips into powder. Incidentally, the dried tomato slices were incredibly tasty, with a deep, rich umami flavour similar to a caramelized tomato paste, and if I were to repeat this exercise in the future I am sure I would keep some of the dried slices intact, to include in anything from salads to sandwiches.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Dried-tray.jpg)
Having the good fortune to own the proverbial high speed blender, complete with a milling canister, I piled all of the dried slices inside and promptly pulverized them on high speed into a satisfyingly fine powder. If you don’t happen to have a similar appliance, I would consider making smaller batches of powder using a spice grinder for the finest powder (crumbling the slices first into small pieces to fit inside), or using a food processor for larger batches, which I think would result in a less fine but still acceptable result.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Blender-whole.jpg)
Once the powder was completed, I realized why so many people are interested in vegetable powders beyond current trends. For me, vegetable powders have the ability to reduce food waste and preserve a harvest, and as importantly, my success in vegetable dehydration will enliven my spice cupboard and my cooking with truly enticing flavours. My Tomato Powder had the most gorgeous russet hue, with a complex and savoury aroma both tomato-y and vegetal, with a taste that far deeper, richer and more interesting than expected, at the intersection of fresh summer tomato flavour and caramelized tomato richness. Taking in the aroma of just the Tomato Powder itself produced a sense memory of inhaling the steamy fragrance from a bowl of rich, utterly savoury vegetable broth; complex and appetite stimulating, and far more than I expected from a one ingredient concoction.
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Blender-ground.jpg)
Upon reflection, the process of making the powder was relatively easy, requiring simply fresh clean produce, basic kitchen equipment, a modest amount of preparation, and then enough time to see the dehydration process through. In future I may experiment with even lower temperatures for dehydration, as I did have a few slices that over crisped, but it really feels like this a process that can’t go too awry - as long as the oven is 170℃ or below, and you keep an eye on things until they are well and truly dried out, a delightful result surely awaits you. My experiment produced a small 250 ml jar full of Tomato Powder which I placed right at the front of my spice cupboard, so I will be sure to use it up this Fall and Winter season, while I dream of calculating energy costs and looking for a second hand dehydrator to come my way. To keep my powder extra dry and free from too much clumping, I reused a small food safe packet of desiccant that I rescued from a package of sushi nori that I had just opened, popping the tiny packet into the top of the jar, a nice finishing touch to the whole process but definitely optional.
How to Use Tomato Powder
Based on my research, as a vegetable powder novice, and based on the taste of the pure Tomato Powder itself, I eagerly await multiple uses for this savoury pantry item. I think the gift of this not quite condiment not quite spice is in how it will lend its depth of flavour in a supporting role, bolstering less than stellar out of season tomato flavour in vinaigrettes, enriching soups, vegetarian chilies, and stews, as an addition to sauces or gravies or yogurt raitas, compounded with butter, mayonnaise, goat cheese, or spreadable vegan cheese, sprinkled into salads, grain salads, on top of avocado, or sprinkled onto savoury crostini. I look forward to experimenting with my new creation and finding the most delicious ways to savour this little taste of summer brightness throughout the rest of the year. Next stop, kale powder!
![](https://daraeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Tomato-Powder_Dried-ground-2-1.jpg)
Tomato Powder
Equipment
- Baking trays
- Silicone baking sheets or parchment paper
- High speed blender with milling canister, spice grinder, or food processor
- Oven, with the ability to set as low as 170℃ or lower, convection optional
- or Dehydrator, optional
Ingredients
- Fresh organic tomatoes, washed and dried Quantity variable depending on how much room your oven has
Instructions
- Prepare your baking trays by lining them with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
- If using your oven, set to 170°F (convection optional) or as low as 130°F.
- Wash and dry your tomatoes, cutting out any blemishes or especially woody stems, otherwise leaving the tomatoes intact.
- Slice tomatoes as thinly and evenly as possible while keeping slices intact.
- Spread your slices out individually on your prepared baking trays, making sure slices do not touch to allow for better airflow.
- Put trays into oven and check every few hours, allowing humid air to escape and checking for doneness. The amount of time needed to fully dehydrate the tomatoes is highly variable, and will depend on various factors such as how juicy your tomatoes are, how efficient your oven is, and if you have convection settings or not, etc.
- Tomato slices are done when fully dehydrated - they should feel crispy and brittle, not chewy or flexible, and should crumble easily when crushed.
- Put all tomato slices into a high speed blender milling canister, mill on high speed until as finely ground as possible - using the tamper to help the powder blend thoroughly if needed.
- If using a spice grinder, crumbled the slices up first to better fit into the grinder, and blend into a fine powder in batches.
- If using a food processor, blend until as fine as possible.
- If using a dehydrator, follow the instructions included with your particular unit for drying damp vegetables or fruits.
- Once ground, store your powder in an airtight glass container; you can add a food safe desiccant packet to help keep your powder dry and less clumpy (optional).