Here come the tomatoes

[Wayne]

 

Agree that this is a poorly written article.

Tomato seeds (carriers of the next generation's genetic information) breed true after a season frozen in the ground.

What is probably happening in a refrigerated picked tomato is the enzymes that synthesize the volatile flavour components are irreversibly inhibited.

With respect to lower temperatures for tomatoes still on the vine I can only speak from personal experience. Tomatoes picked after being exposed to low temperatures are indeed affected (loss of taste and mealy texture). Tomatoes left on the vine to continue ripening when conditions recover are fine.

Just my $0.02.

 

 

 

[ProfessionalHobbit]

We're still awash in them but I expect that they'll start to peter out around the last week of October.

 

 

 

 

This year I discovered a new tradition that will probably be an annual thing going forward -- slow-roasted cherry tomatoes.  I don't know why I never thought of that before.

 

 

 

I still remember the day I shot this photo.  Our favorite vendor at the market had a blowout sale -- $2.50/lb. for heirloom tomatoes.  They won't be back until next year.

 

 

The tomato you see at lower left next to the Green Zebra is an heirloom variety I'd never seen before until I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.  Looks like a plum with purplish-red flesh and wonderfully sweet.

 

[dcarch]

I have found that tomatoes still taste very good after refrigeration. 

 

Why waste them and let them go rotten?

 

dcarch

[heidih]

I agree. After reading this  Serious Eats article I took the path of refrigeration if it was going to save wasting a tomato.  If they are ripe heirlooms I will risk mouth sores and just gorge rather than wasting but in a pinch I refrigerate. Roasting I find loses the unique flavors.

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-you-can-and-sometimes-should-refrigerate-tomatoes.html 

[dcarch]

I had done a quick experiment.

 

Many garden tomatoes, each cut in half. Half of the halves was left in the open (77F room temperature) the other half of halves went into the refrigerator (37F).

After 24 hours, I randomized the tomatoes and taste tested them with a few friends.

No one was able to tell which was which.

 

dcarch

[Shelby]

I will go to my grave respectfully disagreeing with you guys.  Tomatoes--at least Kansas tomatoes--taste markedly different if they have been put in the fridge.  I will cook with them, but I won't eat them without being heated up.  So, bring on the canker sores lol. 

[ElainaA]

@Shelby I agree. Refrigerated tomatoes lose so much flavor. It took a few years before my Mr. Neatnik Husband accepted the basket of tomatoes on the counter from mid August to mid October. But he learned. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I have to be thrifty, and so I will refrigerate a cut half of a large tomato. I agree with those who say that I will compromise flavor for the sake of not wasting it altogether.

 

Now to persuade my Asian market to put their tomatoes over with the onions, potatoes, several varieties of sweet potato, ginger, etc, which is not in their fridge case. They don't even fridge their Napa or regular cabbages, but all tomatoes are in the cold case. I don't buy tomatoes there if I can possibly get out of it. I have picked up a few refrigerated Romas for green pepper steak, because they have all the other ingredients if I can't get to the regular grocery or one of the other ethnic markets that do not refrigerate tomatoes. I cannot think of another grocer that does this, in fact.

 

But yeah, @Wayne has a very good point about tomato seeds surviving freezes over the winter just fine. Who hasn't had volunteers come up in spring from the compost pile?

 

I can't explain or intelligently debate the science, but for my tastes, maters need to stay out of cold storage.