Thank you so much for the drying article. Been on my mind.
Also for the passing canine pal poem.....been there a number of times.

Thanks again.

[QUOTE=zeroma;297137]Could I get a smoky flavor witout having 'a smoker"? I have "liquid smoke".


I have a dehydrator and about 8 pounds of Chocolate cherry tomatoes. It will be my first fime using the deyh. but have many more tomatoes coming. I'd love to do some different tastes. Or would it be better to add the flavors/spices/smoke/etc after the drying process when rehydrating them?

thanks[/QUOTE]

Off-topic in the drying thread, but how did you like the chocolate cherry? It is one of several cherries I am growing. Looked so good, but I hear more people talking about loving Black Cherry here.

By the way, if you have a regular charcoal grill, you can still add the smoke flavor. Make a small pile of coals (and don't use self-lighting coals, use good plain charcoal and start in a chimney starter) on the far side of your grill, and put a foil pan of soaked hardwood on that side. Put your tomatoes on the opposite side, and put the vent opening so that the smoke has to draw across them to get out the vent. You won't want terribly hot coals, just low and slow.

I would double-skewer the tomatos or slices, laying the skewers across the grates, so they don't spin around on one skewer or fall off. Or maybe use a fish/grilling basket?

Truck dried-no nonsense 122 degrees two day process. No need for the fancy pants dehydrators or any other in house devises- keep it simple/Pounds of tomatoes to ounces of tomatoes.
BTW for those out there in the free states-my upcoming annual registration for my old 2002 Ford F-250 here in Komiforniastan is now $339.00 per year!

I used my van last year to be the "greenhouse" for my seeds to get started in - worked great.

Goodness, that is high! Mine here in Texas was $72.00 and I thought that was too high.

Edit:

You can also dry your peppers on a string really well in a vehicle.

[QUOTE=nickel plate;656999]Truck dried-no nonsense 122 degrees two day process. No need for the fancy pants dehydrators or any other in house devises- keep it simple/Pounds of tomatoes to ounces of tomatoes.
BTW for those out there in the free states-my upcoming annual registration for my old 2002 Ford F-250 here in Komiforniastan is now $339.00 per year![/QUOTE]

You might be able to convince them to go down on your taxes by demonstrating the environmentally friendly way you are dehydrating with solar power.
Your truck no longer is a means of transportation but a mobile solar powered dehydrator.