Air-dried tomato from Mt. Vesuvius

Botch

Hi, I'm Botch and I'm a tomato freak.
 
My favorite french videographer had some pizza using these "air-dried" tomatoes, and returned to Naples Italy to track them down:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAdG4LwcDZA
 
The small tomatoes are picked fresh end of summer, left on the vine, and hung to air-dry sans refrigeration.  They apparently stay edible until the next summer (I've seen this technique before on other cooking shows).  I had to chuckle when the farmer said that the higher altitude/colder weather made the tomatoes grow a thicker skin, which protected them (his farm was within walking distance of the Mediterranean, in southern Italy!)   
Alex carried a bunch of the tomatoes to an even higher restaurant (maybe 200 feet) and they cooked up an extremely simple dish: a clove of garlic, sautéed in olive oil, add the whole small tomatoes and basil, and then dress spaghetti with it.
 
Has anyone here tried drying fresh tomatoes on the vine?  Wintertime grocery tomatoes are nasty, but not the small cherry/grape size, and there are now even mid-sized 'maters on the vine which I believe are grown in greenhouses in the NE (other cooking shows, again) which aren't too bad.    
 
I'm again dreaming of picking up one of those €1 cottages in southern Italy, and scooting before Civil War II begins.  I know there will be humidity and language challenges, but still...

caliking

That’s pretty cool! Terroir has to make a helluva difference,  besides the type of tomato.  I imagine the tomato flavor gets concentrated, in a sense, and really shines. I wish I could taste it. 

It’s fascinating to learn about food preservation, before the age of refrigerators, and besides curing/pickling. I came across this article earlier in the year, about keeping grapes fresh in Aghanistan:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-did-people-store-fruit-before-fridges.amp

(Sadly, keeping grapes fresh is the least of the problems Afghans are facing).

Ozzie_Isaac

The fact humans survived before Best Buy Dates were invented amazes me.  I just imagine people dying right and left and always sick.

Legume

You have a favorite French videographer?

nolaegghead

Have you heard of these creatures the scientists call "germs"?  They say they're so small they're invisible!  It's a hoax the king is using to control us!  A famous baird's sister's boyfriend tried this "sterilization" of food by cooking it and his nuts shriveled up into raisins!  I for one will not be controlled!

Eoin

Not a fan of the standard sun dried tomatoes we get here, don't like the taste. In the UK, we get poor quality tomatoes all year round - hop over the channel and amazing produce is available in every supermarket. Mutti tins are my go-to for sauces and pasta.

Botch

caliking said:

It’s fascinating to learn about food preservation, before the age of refrigerators, and besides curing/pickling. I came across this article earlier in the year, about keeping grapes fresh in Aghanistan:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-did-people-store-fruit-before-fridges.amp

(Sadly, keeping grapes fresh is the least of the problems Afghans are facing).

Thanks for posting that, fascinating read.  

caliking

Botch said:

caliking said:

It’s fascinating to learn about food preservation, before the age of refrigerators, and besides curing/pickling. I came across this article earlier in the year, about keeping grapes fresh in Aghanistan:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-did-people-store-fruit-before-fridges.amp

(Sadly, keeping grapes fresh is the least of the problems Afghans are facing).

Thanks for posting that, fascinating read.  

That's what I thought. Pretty amazing for a non-sterile process. 

fishlessman

cant hurt to try, maybe pick some next fall right before the frost.  only winter store bought tomato i like are those brown kumatos.

GregW

@Botch
I've sent you a PM. Have you seen it?

Botch

GregW said:

@Botch
I've sent you a PM. Have you seen it?

Yes, answered it this morning.  Let me double-check...
 
EDIT  It had a blue sphere in my "Archive" folder, I opened it and re-sent it (to your own email) Lemme know.  

GregW

@Botch I don't have a message reply from you or anything to my Gmail address. This is strange, I've never had any trouble receiving PM's before.

Legume

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

pgprescott

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

nolaegghead

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

Thanks for your support for a veteran that spent his entire adult life serving the US Air Force.

Legume

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

Yeah, it was just a cone of silence joke, not an insult.

pgprescott

nolaegghead said:

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

Thanks for your support for a veteran that spent his entire adult life serving the US Air Force.

I know. 

pgprescott

Legume said:

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

Yeah, it was just a cone of silence joke, not an insult.

Just a bit uptight. I'm sure he is able to laugh at himself a little bit. I'm sure he was more than competent at his job. it was a joke. get it. 

nolaegghead

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

^^^ this is right out of Get Smart

And to think the safety of our nation was in his hands. 🤣

Yeah, it was just a cone of silence joke, not an insult.

Just a bit uptight. I'm sure he is able to laugh at himself a little bit. I'm sure he was more than competent at his job. it was a joke. get it. 

Oh, ok.  Didn't know you guys were so close.

Botch

I didn't either.  
 
Hey @GregW, did you get my reply?  I've sent it, again, two different ways this morning.