I just made a huge batch of homemade salsa (16 pint jars). Needless to say I had a lot of leftover tomato skins. Not wanting to waste them I decided to make homemade tomato powder. Here’s what I did.
Needed Materials
Dehydrator
Tomato skins
Blender
Instructions
Wash, blanch and cold water bath your tomatoes (if you don’t already have tomato skins)
Once your skins have been water bathed the skins should slip off easily
My skins were in the fridge for a day and they were still perfectly fine for dehydrating
Place your skins in your dehydrator trays
Single layer (no overlapping)
Turn your dehydrator on and leave for 6-12 hours
You will want a lower heat to retain as much of the nutrients as possible
I placed my dehydrator on 125 degrees and they took about 9.5 hours
I also rotated my trays once when I noticed the skins on the top where still squishy
When your skins are done they will be thin with a crispy, paper-like consistency
Next I placed my skins in my mortar and pestle and pounded them to smaller sizes
This made it easier to blend
Transfer your skins to your blender or food processor
Blend for 1-2 minutes
Consistency of your final product is personal taste – if you want a pure powder you might need to blend a little longer
Store in an air-tight container in a cool/dry place
Uses for Tomato Powder
Sprinkle on anything you would like to add tomato flavour too
Grilled cheese
Scrambled eggs
Macaroni and cheeese
Ground beef/veggie ground for tacos or sloppy joes