They say the most nutrients are found on the skin of fruits and vegetables. Maybe that’s true. I don’t have the details. But I do know that dehydrating tomato skins and turning them into tomato powder make for a great soup flavoring.
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Zero waste from tomatoes
I love how summer tomatoes have zero waste.
- can or freeze the tomato meat
- compost the green tops
- give the cores to the chickens or add to your dog’s raw food diet
- dehydrate the skins into powder
Nothing of the tomato gets wasted!
How do I peel tomato skins off?
There are a couple of ways you can get the skin off without a lot of meat left on it. This way dehydrating is quicker.
One way is to broil the tomatoes. Not to cook them but to make the skin split for easy peeling. Cut the tomato in half then core it. Lay the halves skin side up on a cookie sheet with a lid to prevent spillage of juices into your stove or in a baking pan. Broil on high for 3-4 minutes or until most skins have split. Remove pan/dish from oven to cool for a few minutes before removing skins.
Another way you can do it is to boil a pot of water and have a large pan of ice water waiting and ready. Carefully lower your tomatoes into the boiling water a few at a time. The skins should split fairly quickly. Remove tomato from boiling water and add to an ice bath. This will stop the cooking process and cool it down enough that you can actually hold the tomato to remove the skin.
Here’s more on the EASIEST way to peel tomatoes:
TIME SAVING TOMATO PEELING HACK
How do I dry tomato skins?
After you’ve chosen your desired method of peeling, you’ll put the skins on a cookie sheet or baking pan to allow them some space to naturally dry. If it’s fruit fly season, put your sheet of skins in a cool oven with the light on for one day.
Then you can add your skins without touching to your dehydrator to dry for about 8-12 hours, depending on your machine. Check them every few hours and remove any skins that are crispy dry.
If you do not have a dehydrator, use your oven. Turn down heat to the lowest setting on your oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Then evenly spread out your skins, making sure they do not touch or overlap. Dehydrate for 2-3 hours or until skins are crispy; not burnt. Be sure to rotate the pans after 1 hour.
How do I store tomato skins once they are dried?
Store completely dried skins in an air tight container like a jar with a lid or these food-grade bags. It’s a good idea to also add a packet like this to absorb any moisture and help prevent your food from molding.
Storing tomato skins like this make it easy to add some fresh summer garden flavor to all your fall and winter soups, stews, and sauces.
What do I do with dehydrated tomato skins?
Because I generally process tomatoes in the summer, I’ll save these skins whole to blend into powder to use in fall for soups. But you can go ahead and make your skins into powder now if you’d like. Again, store in an air tight container. I like to reuse glass spice jars for my own homegrown herbs and spices.
Use a Magic Bullet or some small blender like it to finely blend your skins into a powder.
How do I use tomato powder?
The possibilities are endless, fun, and certainly delicious! Let’s not forget nutritious too! So many nutrients are found in the skin of edibles. The parts most people dispose of! Think potatoes, apples, etc.
Of course, keep in mind that homegrown or locally farmed is always going to be your best and healthiest bet when it comes to vegetables and fruits. They are less likely to have been sprayed with any chemicals! Seeking organic produce is another better option.
I personally love to use them in soups like Zuppa Toscana, chicken tortilla soup, and my sausage, potato, and kale soup.
You can add tomato powder to spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, or sautéed vegetables to give your hearty dishes an added pop of fresh summer garden flavor.
How else can I preserve tomatoes?
If you like the idea of using the tomato skins instead of throwing them away, here are some other ways to have zero waste when it comes to your summer tomatoes.
Of course you can always compost tomato skins or feed them to your livestock instead. Whatever you choose to do with them, just don’t throw them away.
12 WAYS TO USE TOMATOES! Read this blog post for more inspiration.
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This is so smart and a great way to use everything from the tomato! 👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you for your real and genuine comment, friend! I appreciate YOU. 😉
;A friend told me about this recently but didn’t think to ask how she did it. Mine are wet do I need to air dry them first then put them in my dehydrator?
Hi! Thanks for the question. I actually put them right on the dehydrator tray as soon as I am done peeling tomatoes. So they are generally pretty wet still. Takes about 8-12 hours to fully dry, depending on your dehydrator.