Sundried tomatoes in oil

[Caroline]

Hi everyone
Has anyone done sundried tomatoes in oil that can be kept on the shelf and not refrigerated. I have been drying my plum tomatoes in the oven - basted with herbs, garlic and olive oil - and they are wonderful - even if I say so myself
I gather that they can be kept in oil but have to be refrigerated. I've checked the net, and nobody seems to leave them on the shelf. I'm presuming it's because they haven't been processed? Anyone know? Has anyone processed with oil before??
Obviously you can buy sundried tomatoes in glass jars from the supermarket, so there must be a way to do it. I really quite fancy having mine up on display in my kitchen - and not have to put them in the fridge - where the oil goes cloudy anyway.
Thanks, Caroline

[mallee11]

I tried to keep some on the shelf not good so now I put a certain ammount in ziplock bags and freeze
I also tried processing them looked like reconstituted mush

[minnie]

Hi Caroline,

I've had them in the fridge and find the same as for olives in straight olive oil, warm to room temp before serving or a mix of veg oil and olive oil they say is better, thought I'd try the mix of oils next time I marinate feta or chabecou as well.

Vicki

[Shadowgirlau]

I agree with you Caroline, there has to be away to process these types of things in oil at home. However i have not as yet been able to do so safely. Awhile back I was making fetta cheese and was marinting this in oil with other ingredients but these were in the fridge items. I have tried semi dried tomatoes in oil and processed them to keep in the cupboard unfortunely during the process I found oil had seeped out of the jars into the water. I still left them on the shelf anyway but found the oil had caused the lids not to seal properly which affected the end product and I wasn't game enough to eat them so out they went.

Pity but there you go. I shall be very interested if anyone else hd had any better luck than I.

Kathleen

[Mojojo]

I haven't done it either, but I did find this article, looks interesting, esp about the re-hydrating bit. No temp/pressure processing in it though.

http://www.olindaridge.com/Recipe-Ideas/Appetizers-Salads/Sun-dried-Tomatoes-in-Olive-Oil

[Glyn]

I dried a stack of tomatoes in a FV dehydrator - really dry and then packed them into a jar and covered them with oil, and those I have kept on the shelf since early Jan- so far so good, no fermenting and they taste fine- but very chewy, great for whipping into dips and things though.I don't know how long they will last, so I'm keeping a close eye on them - just one bubble and they're pasta sauce! I also tried to semi dried but those fermented even under oil.
Hope this helps
Glyn