Generally there is no association with any of the gourmet dishes when we think of dried products. However even relatively small amount of the sun-dried tomatoes gives dishes the rich gourmet flavor. Easy to store and use sun-dried tomatoes is a product that is really worth having in your kitchen. People in ancient Italy dried tomatoes on their tile roofs. This way they had great substitute for fresh tomatoes for winter season. Tomatoes were brought to America by Thomas Jefferson in the 1700’s. Nowadays sun-dried tomatoes are not as popular in Italy as they are in United States. They were gaining popularity in United States for the past couple of decades. Sun-dried tomatoes initially consumed as gourmet item are now gaining popularity in American home kitchens. The great think about sun-dried tomatoes is that they keep their nutritional value after procedure of drying. Sun-dried tomatoes are great source of dietary fiber, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus and lycopene which helps to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. It is also a great source of iron, vitamin C and vitamin K. Sun-dried tomatoes can be used in cooking as a substitute for fresh tomatoes for a wide variety of recipes. As it takes about 20 pounds of fresh tomatoes to produce 1 pound of sun-dried tomatoes, they are much richer in taste comparing to fresh ones. Chopped sun-dried tomatoes are especially great in breads and pizzas. It can also be used for pasta sauces and Chile.