Sun dried tomatoes

[Jayceef]

Hello-wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can store my huge 5 pound bag of sun dried tomatoes I ordered off Amazon. I was thinking of dividing them up into sandwich baggies and them vacuum sealing them in gallon size bags. Then I can just pull out a bag when I need it and reseal it as needed. Do I need to freeze them? Or can I leave them on the shelf? I have the hand held vacuum sealer with the special bags. TIA!

Edited April 9, 2022 by Jayceef

[Ambergris]

You can run some of them through the blender to make tomato powder, which is very compact and very useful.

Freezing is not necessary if they're dry-dried.  If they're in oil, you should freeze them.  The oil they're in will get slushy, but that's fine.

 This is from a book I have:
Storage Options
 Stored properly in a spice jar or a Mason jar, powders will last about 6 months.
 Stored properly in a spice jar or a Mason jar with a moisture absorber, powders will last about 
8 months.
 Stored properly in a Mason jar with an oxygen pack, powders will last up to a year.
 Vacuum sealed with an oxygen pack, then double-bagged in Mylar and stored properly in a cool, 
dry place, powders will last five years or more. When stored like this, the powder can become 
compacted. If it does, just sift, re-blend, or grind again before using.
 If you vacuum seal the dehydrated tomatoes without first grinding, the shelf life is extended up 
to 5 years, and you have more flexibility in using your tomatoes.
 Powdering radically increases the surface area, which is why powders have so much punch, but 
that larger surface area also allows for more oxidization and more surface area for pathogens to 
attack and thrive on if not properly stored.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Ambergris