1. A process for preparing a dried tomato comprising the steps of: providing a fresh tomato; chilling the fresh tomato at a temperature of about 35° F. to about 45° F. for at least about 1 day; processing the chilled tomato by a process selected from the group consisting of 1) cutting the chilled tomato into two or more pieces and 2) abrading the chilled tomato; infusing the chilled and processed tomato with an infusion solution comprising 40-45% sweetener at a temperature of about 50-80° F. until the tomatoes are infused at a level of about 10 to about 20 Brix; and drying the infused tomato, wherein the dried, infused tomato comprises an a* value of at least about 20.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the infusion solution comprises a liquid chosen from the group consisting of water, a saline solution, a salt substitute, a sweetener, a fruit juice concentrate, a vegetable juice concentrate, and mixtures thereof.
3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the infusion solution comprises a saline solution comprising a concentration of about 1.5% to about 4.0% by weight sodium chloride in water and a sweetener comprising corn syrup.
4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the infusion solution comprises about 40% to about 45% of a corn syrup and about 55% to about 60% of a saline solution containing from about 1.5 to about 4.5% sodium chloride, wherein all amounts are by weight of the infusion solution.
5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the infusion solution comprises about 40 Brix to about 60 Brix and a temperature of about 60° F. to about 80° F., and wherein the dried, infused tomato comprises an a* value of from about 20 to about 30.
6. The process of claim 1 , wherein infusing the chilled tomato pieces with an infusion solution comprises immersing the chilled tomato pieces in an infusion bath comprising the infusion solution for about 4 hours to about 24 hours; wherein the dried, infused tomato comprises an L* value of at least about 21, a b* value of at least about 15 and an h value of from about 34 to about 37; and wherein the dried, infused tomato is free of added sulfur.
7. The process of claim 1 , wherein drying the infused tomato comprises drying with heated air having a temperature of from about 165° F. to about 175° F. for about 5 hours to about 7 hours.
8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the product produced by the process comprises a moisture content of from about 6% to about 13.5% and a water activity of from about 0.3 to about 0.6.
9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises cutting the chilled tomato into two or more pieces.
10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises abrading the chilled tomato.
11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the dried, infused tomato comprises an a* value of from about 20 to about 30 and wherein the dried, infused tomato is substantially free of any artificial, added sulfur.
12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the dried, infused tomato is free of any added sulfur not naturally occurring in the fresh tomato.
13. A process for preparing a dried tomato comprising the steps of: providing a tomato; freezing the tomato; processing the frozen tomato by a process comprising a process chosen from the group consisting of cutting the frozen tomato into two or more pieces and abrading the frozen tomato; infusing the processed, frozen tomato with an infusion solution comprising 40-45% sweetener at a temperature of about 50-80° F. until the tomatoes are infused at a level of about 10 to about 20 Brix; and drying the infused tomato; and wherein the dried infused tomato comprises an a* value of at least about 20.
14. The process of claim 13 , wherein the infusion solution comprises a liquid chosen from the group consisting of water, a saline solution, a salt substitute, a sweetener, a fruit juice concentrate, a vegetable juice concentrate, and mixtures thereof.
15. The process of claim 14 , wherein the infusion solution comprises a saline solution comprising a concentration of about 1.5% to about 4.0% by weight sodium chloride in water and a sweetener comprising corn syrup.
16. The process of claim 15 , wherein the infusion solution comprises about 40% to about 45% of a corn syrup and about 55% to about 60% of a saline solution containing from about 1.5 to about 4.5% sodium chloride, wherein all amounts are by weight of the infusion solution.
17. A process for preparing a dried tomato comprising the steps of: providing a fresh tomato; chilling the fresh tomato at a temperature of about 35° F. to about 45° F. for at least about 1 day; processing the chilled tomato by a process comprising a process chosen from the group consisting of cutting the chilled tomato into two or more pieces and abrading the chilled tomato; infusing the chilled and processed tomato with an infusion solution comprising 40-45% sweetener at a temperature of about 50-80° F. until the tomatoes are infused at a level of about 10 to about 20 Brix; and drying the infused tomato, wherein the dried, infused tomato comprises an a* value of from about 22 to about 27, an L* value of from about 21 to about 25, a b* value of from about 15 to about 20, and an h* value of from about 34 to about 37.
18. The process of claim 17 , wherein the infusion solution comprises a liquid chosen from the group consisting of water, a saline solution, a salt substitute, a sweetener, a fruit juice concentrate, a vegetable juice concentrate, and mixtures thereof.
19. The process of claim 18 , wherein the infusion solution comprises about 40% to about 45% of a corn syrup by weight of the infusion solution and about 55% to about 60% of a saline solution by weight of the infusion solution, and wherein the saline solution comprises a concentration of about 1.5% to about 4.0% by weight sodium chloride in water.
