I do not like refrigerated tomatoes. Actually, I prefer all fruit at room temperature. My opinion might differ if my house were hot and my refrigerator not so cold, but I doubt it.

I do have to agree with Alton Brown who recently posted the following on Facebook;

"Do me a favor: Never put tomatoes in the refrigerator.

If they drop below 50 degrees F, a flavor compound called (Z)-3-hexenal is just going to flip itself off like a chemical switch ... permanently."

I know nothing about (Z) 3 hexenal, but I know I like the taste of unrefrigerated tomatoes more.

ML

What if they are still on the vine? We've dipped to 48 degrees a couple nights ago and have lots of heirlooms still ripening. Is the flavor gone? I never refrigerate toms but never thought about when they're still in the ground but Alton's statement makes me wonder.

/tricia

I wrap end-of-season tomatoes in paper and store them in a single layer in a sturdy box. Place them in a cool, dry, dark place in the basement to ripen, and then enjoy them in December.

It is suggested by the USDA that you NOT can ripe tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines because they have a low acid level.

Green tomatoes are more acidic than ripened fruit and can be safely canned.

Recipes using green tomatoes from Ball Blue Book:
-Dilled Green Tomatoes
-Green Tomato Mincemeat
-Piccalilli (or green tomato relish)

-Grainlady

Warm tomatoes are much more tasty. Never green ones. If "cold ones on the vine" raise that question, go pick one and bite into to check the taste. Not rocket science.

I never refrigerate them unless they are getting almost overripe and I can't use them right away. By the way, we have a variety here called Tasti Lee that really lasts a long time even when ripe. There is only one store that sells it here. Is it all over?

I had tomatoes on vines in my back yard all last winter, and they tasted fine. I'm not sure if it got below 50 degrees, however, but in a normal winter, it will get down to 45 and in an extreme winter it will get down to 40. I've always had winter tomatoes, but mostly cherry tomatoes instead of heirloom, and so that may make a difference. I will not be growing tomatoes this winter, however, as the vines are too much trouble and are not attractive. Even when it got down to 45 degrees in the winter, my cherry tomatoes tasted great.

Lars

I see his argument, since 70 degrees is the recommended "room temp". I don't know many people who keep their house at that temp in the warm months.

I just get what I need for the next few days...and keep them on the counter.

If they're ripening too fast, roast and then freeze for sauces.

Thanks, Lars.

/tricia

I refrigerate my tomatoes, usually, but, I don't like refrigerated fruits and veggies, as a rule.

If I'm going to serve them fresh and I've just gotten them, I don't refrigerate them.

If I'm going to use them over a couple of days,sliced, in sandwiches, etc, I do refrigerate, to keep them from rotting. I bring the slices to room temp before I use them. Any change in taste is lost in all the other sandwich fixings.

Same for using them in stuff - stews, chili, sauces, etc. If I didn't just pick or buy them, I refrigerate them.

When I make salsa, I buy a big, big box of tomatoes and use them right away. No idea if it matters.

I never refrigerate tomatoes...

I leave them out; DH refrigerates. Now I see the point about "room temperature." One of those Duh! moments. Guess I'll agree to refrigerate if I am not using them the same day.

When discussing tomato behavior, we seem to think there is only one kind of tomato, and they all behave the same. The fact is, I think there are 25,000 varieties.

I bought store "Tomato On The Vine" long time ago, just curious. They were terrible. I left a few on the counter, and many in the refrigerator.

Very interesting, they never got riper, never went rotten, many weeks later, they just dried up on the counter and stayed firm in the refrigerator like they were first bought from the store.

I have read all the studies, and comments, but in the blind test I have done, no one was able to tell if my garden tomatoes had been stored in the refrigerator.

dcarch

I learned, while I was researching for the last such thread, that the big problems with refrigeration are with tomatoes which are put into the fridge unripe and those that are left in there long enough to get mealy. Even the ones who were vigorously flogging scientific claims to changes in flavor agreed that a few days in the fridge won't hurt a ripe tomato.

For me, if tomatoes are overripe, however, they do seem to sink and die in the fridge, but that might just be from false hope that the cold will make them last longer (like, until tomorrow), rather than the USE RIGHT NOW! urgency that they should have.

The cold does seem to turn some of the sugars to starches, according to the (better) science (the "scientific" explanation that many offer for a change in taste hadn't been demonstrated in any of the discussions I found. A hypothesis extrapolating some chemistry without any proof of real world application--or even laboratory success--is not science, but merely a starting place).

I've never knowingly had a tomato turn mealy in the fridge (I have bought them already mealy during season change), but I don't expect them to linger either. A week or two ago, I did discover a large beefsteak tomato that had been forgotten for a couple of weeks under something else. It was firm and appetizing looking, so I sliced it for sandwiches, and ate a slice straight. It still had a full flavor and wasn't actually mealy, but it did seem like maybe it would have gone mealy in another few days. IOW, it was fine but a step off from perfect. Considering the mess of moldy goo it would have been if it had been out, even in the Winter, I don't think that's a bad outcome.

Some tomatoes taste like nothing at room temperature, and only have a full spectrum of flavor when they're chilled. Chilling is supposed to suppress the sugars or bring out the acids or something. The kinds I'm thinking of don't taste sweet unrefrigerated. Just meh. Chilled, they don't taste acidic, per se, though I think it is the acids that spring to the fore. They just taste complex and delicious. When they fully warm up, they go back to meh. I've also encountered a few varieties, which I had forgotten about during the last go round, which are only good sunwarm from the garden, but might be fine left out in a warm kitchen overnight.

Tomatoes are a funny thing. I don't think there's any across the board answer. As someone who grew up eating tomatoes every day (and usually does, still), I find the ferocity with which some people assert the musts rather amusing. Except for a few varieties that are at their yummiest cold or warm, and all varieties, which (no duh), are best when they're truly ripe, tomatoes are tomatoes and whatever way works in your own household is the best. And if you have a disagreement, maybe the trick is to leave some out and put some in the fridge. :)

Edit: I've had this bad cold and have been preparing least resistance meals. That is, I'm out of little tomatoes, and have several untouched slicing tomatoes. I bought them a week ago Monday and put them in the fridge. They were ripe, organic, not over large, but basic commercial, round, red tomatoes. I sliced one for sandwiches. Not mealy at all. Really delicious. I don't know if it might have been sweeter or tastier last week before chilling (it would have rotted by now without chilling), but I don't perceive any lack of flavor. Really delicious. I think it must take a really long time for a tomato to go mealy in the fridge, and if there's a loss of flavor, it's not much.

This post was edited by plllog on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 17:32