It may seem common sense to store tomatoes in the fridge, but this actually might be the worst place to keep them if you do not know the correct storage method.
Tomatoes need to be stored differently depending on their ripening process, and if green and unripened the the worst place to keep them is the fridge as it will affect their taste.
Laura Fuentes, a cookbook author and founder of the cooking show Momables, explained that green tomatoes should be placed on a countertop to encourage them to ripen while red tomatoes can be kept in the fridge to last longer.
She said: “Ripe tomatoes are only going to last on your counter for about two days. If you need them to last a little longer, you can refrigerate them and that will slow the ripening process.
“But you don’t want to put green tomatoes in the fridge because they’re not going to ripen at all.”
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To maximize the flavour, firmness and overall quality of green tomatoes let them ripen naturally away from the sunlight. If you wish to get them to ripen quickly then keep green tomatoes on a windowsill.
Laura said: “If you have green tomatoes and you want to make a sandwich tomorrow and want them to ripen up faster, put them on your windowsill and just with indirect sunlight it is going to help speed up the process.”
Once tomatoes are red and fully ripened, they should be used up or moved to the fridge to help make them keep fresh for a little while longer.
Laura said: “Fresh ripe tomatoes [will last] once to two days from the vine and when they are ripe you are going to consume them. If they are green, they’ll last about four to five days on the counter.”
She added: “What I do recommend is to not wash your tomatoes when you come home from the store. You just wash them right before you slice them.”
