Sun Dried Tomatos--Dry or Oil-packed

[JonK]

Our local Italian grocery and restaurant supply store has real sun-dried tomatoes in large, quite inexpensive bags. When recipes call for oil-packed SDTs, I usually just rehydrate the dry ones in hot water, pat them dry, and put them in olive oil for a day or two (if I've planned ahead) or just use them as is after rehydration with a little olive oil thrown in for good measure.

Since I've learned a lot in this forum (thank you all!), I thought I'd ask if this is a reasonable procedure or whether there is something else I should be doing or whether this substitution is doomed from the start.

Being an experimentalist by trade and by nature, I did try comparing one pasta recipe using both jarred and my home-oiled SDTs. The tomatos were cut into thin strips for that recipe, and I did notice that the jarred variety was somewhat softer. In another recipe where the SDTs were ground up, I could notice no difference. (In both cases, the jarred product was not herb-augmented, as some are.)

Other recipes (where I've not done a comparison) that call for cooking the SDTs (as in a stew) seemed to come out just fine.

Given the pricey nature of the oil-packed products, I'm likely to kep using my bagged product. Any comments?

[phatch]

I've seen others recommend the same course you're following, buying the airdried and then oiling them up as needed.

In fact, you're probably safer than many of those in that you do a short term small volume prep for recipes as needed. Some hydrate a batch and store them for longer periods.

There is increased risk in the latter method as you're placing (marginally) wet ingredients into an oxygen-free environment. This is ideal for botulism to form. It's probably not a huge risk if made for use in a few days and kept refrifgerated for those few days. But it's not perfectly safe either.

Commercial production includes sterilizing methods to keep it safe.

Phil

[MikeLM]

Years ago I attended the national Restaurant Show in Chicago, and a distributor of dry sun-dried tomatoes handed out a recipe to re-oil them.

You soak them in water for about four hours, then drain and blot dry. Put them in a microwaveable container and cover them with olive oil. A clove of garlic and/or a sprig of mint is nice, too.

Put them in the microwave and nuke the oil up to 140 degrees F. Let them sit for a couple of hours and then refrigerate. As you use them, the oil can be added to salad dressings for extra flavor.

As you pointed out, this is a LOT cheaper than buying bottled ones.

Mike

[JonK]

Great--I'll give that a try. Is the four hour soak at room temperature or in hot water? Following that by microwaving with the oil sounds like a good idea.

I've read about the issue of botulism when making herb oils at home. The spores are very heat resistant, so that oil at 140 F is not likely to help much. I'm wondering if the soak-rinse-dry before heating in the oil might do it by washing off any spores (ditto for the garlic and herbs too). Keeping the resulting mixture in the refrigerator (< 45 F) should prevent any few remaining spores from growing and making toxin (or so say the folks at the co-operative extension).

Thanks MikeLM and phatch.

[cliveb]

Originally Posted by JonK

Great--I'll give that a try. Is the four hour soak at room temperature or in hot water? Following that by microwaving with the oil sounds like a good idea.

I've read about the issue of botulism when making herb oils at home. The spores are very heat resistant, so that oil at 140 F is not likely to help much. I'm wondering if the soak-rinse-dry before heating in the oil might do it by washing off any spores (ditto for the garlic and herbs too). Keeping the resulting mixture in the refrigerator (< 45 F) should prevent any few remaining spores from growing and making toxin (or so say the folks at the co-operative extension).

Thanks MikeLM and phatch.

I do something like that for my own benefit! When I've rehydrated them, I mix the tomatoes with garlic, capers, black peppercorns, bay leaves and a pinch of oregano. Given the adverse criticisms of garlic, I roast mine first.
Usually, four days is enough for the flavour to really come through.

[MikeLM]

Jon-
Is the four hour soak at room temperature or in hot water?

Y'know- I don't really remember. I think either room temp or 140 degrees or so would work.

Mike