Question: are sun dried tomatoes really dried in the sun

Answer: Yes, Sun-dried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes that lose most of their water content after spending a majority of their drying time in the sun. These tomatoes are usually pre-treated with sulfur dioxide or salt before being placed in the sun in order to improve quality. Typically, tomatoes spend 4--10 days in the sun in order for the sun-drying process to be complete. Cherry types of tomatoes will lose 88% of their initial (fresh) weight, while larger tomatoes can lose up to 93% during the process. As a result, it takes anywhere from 8 to 14 kilograms of fresh tomatoes to make a single kilogram of sun-dried tomatoes.