old sun dried tomatoes

[Rheta]

I just found some sun dried tomatoes in my fridge that I bought back in December or January. Daughter wanted them for a recipe but ended up not making it. Proceeded to forget they were there. They are the kind that come from the produce section of the market and are not in oil. Are these still usable? Thanks.

[sparkareno]

try rehydrating them in hot/boiling water.

[bushwickgirl]

Absolutely, just do what sparkareno wrote. After rehydratng, store in olive oil.

[Rheta]

Thanks for the answers sparkareno and bushwickgirl! Now, can you give me ideas on how I can use these sun dried tomatoes? Thanks.

[bushwickgirl]

There are a bunch of threads on this subject, one recently that got many good usage responses:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/707878#5615200

If you plan to rehydrate and store in oil more tomatoes than you can use in a week to 10 days, please read this PDF article from the FDA regarding proper storage of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. Scroll down to "THE U. C. DAVIS METHOD FOR PACKING DRIED TOMATOES IN OIL, for safe handling techniques. Essentially the article calls for acidulating the tomatoes:

http://cefresno.ucdavis.edu/files/112...

I meant to pass this info along to you in my other post, just to err on the side of caution, but I couldn't find the link. This only has to do with tomatoes stored in oil. Rehydrating and using just what you need for a recipe may be a better way of handling them, but with a simple step outlined in the PDF they can be stored in oil without issue.

[Rheta]

Thank you bushwickgirl. This is very helpful!

[bushwickgirl]

You're welcome.