Tomato, Julienne Soft

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Imagine the Tuscan piedmont, filled with ceramic-tile roofs serving as platforms for thousands of plum tomatoes, drying in the sun. This is precisely how Italians preserved the summer tomato harvest in bygone decades. Indeed, any dish featuring the concentrated flavors of sun-dried tomatoes – simultaneously sweet and savory, with just touch of piquancy – will make you feel like you stepped back in time. In a way, you have. In the deepest, darkest chill of winter, the pizzazz of sun dried tomatoes will transport you back to the bright, sun-warmed days of summer. Roof tiles may no longer figure in the processing, but the sun is still the essential agent for the tomato’s transformation.

While some people enjoy snacking on sun-dried tomatoes right out of the bag, many cooks prefer to reconstitute them first, simply by soaking them in water. And then, the possibilities are endless. Sun-dried tomatoes jazz up salads and pastas, pizzas and breads. Blend them into pesto to add some zing. Whip them into a pâté, to serve as a topping for crusty bread. And certainly don’t throw out the water used for rehydration! It will enhance all sorts of soups and sauces.

Sun-drying not only concentrates the taste, but leaves the little flavor grenades packed with health benefits, as well. Sun-dried tomatoes are excellent sources of lycopene, essential to eye health, as well as Vitamin C and other antioxidants helpful in combating the free radicals at the heart of many diseases. Sun-dried tomatoes are also high in fiber, which promotes healthy digestion and can lower harmful forms of cholesterol.

Mount Hope Wholesale offers sun-dried tomatoes in bulk, in 1-pound and 5-pound bags. These are our julienned “soft” (preserved with citric acid, SO2 and glucose) variety. We also have soft halves. If you don’t want the preservatives, and prefer a harder, chewier sun dried tomatoe, we have you covered there as well. Again, both in julienned slices or halves.