Sundried tomatoes - what do they add to a recipe?

[Rawkinlocs]

Hello all,

I was wondering something, I notice in some recipes it will call for tomatoes AND sundried tomatoes. What do sundried tomatoes add to certain dishes that regular, fresh tomatoes do not?

Could one just dehydrate some tomatoes and use them and get the same effect? I've looked around in my local wholefoods store where we do most shopping and haven't seen any as of yet.

Any idea where they are most carried? Not even our fruit market has them.

But again, why are they used? What do they contribute as far as flavor, texture, etc.?

TIA!

Cherie

[Alissa]

Hi Cherie,
Dried tomatoes are used to give recipes a different texture. Like in my tomatoes sauce, they give it a thicker texture. If you just used regular tomatoes it would come out soupier.
Almost like thinking about it as if when you make a regular tomato sauce you add that canned stuff to make it thick...
Sun dried tomatoes are chewier and a bit sweet most of the time.

You absolutely can make your own, that would be ideal!
But you should be able to find them anywhere. Even supermarkets but the only think is you want to get them without the sulfur which is usually added.
Really any health food store should have them. Sometimes they are in an isle or sometimes bulk bins, etc.. Maybe you’re just missing the spot?
Whole foods definitely has them, they are in the pasta and sauce isle at my whole foods.

Hope that helped?
Best,
Alissa

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Alissa,

Yes, this helps a great deal! Thanks so much! I will check the store and even ask (probably should have just done that to begin with) and see if they have them. Now, will the packaging actually let you know whether or not it has the sulfur?

Cherie

[smasty]

I think it's pretty amazing what sundried tomatoes do to a recipe. They are wonderful! My supermarket in Des Moines carries them in the produce section in either jars (packed in oil) or dried in plastic bags.