I’ve come to realize there are two camps: those who refrigerate tomatoes and those who don’t. I’m in the don’t camp. It was never really a conscious decision, but just basically how it’s always been done in my house. And then, once I started heavily gardening, I fell in love with the taste of fresh from the garden tomatoes, which are typically not cold.“Chilling fruits at temperatures below 12 degrees Celsius hampers enzymes that help synthesize flavor-imparting volatile compounds, resulting in relatively fresh but insipid fruits.”
A team of horticultural researchers {just try saying that 10x fast!} studied 25,000 genes in many different tomato types. The tomatoes were refrigerated at 41°F for one, 3, or 7 days, and then left at room temperature for an additional day to recover. The fruits were then tasted and tested for flavor. The results were overwhelming: the unrefrigerated tomatoes tasted better to almost everyone. They had a fuller flavor than those that had been placed in the fridge.
They also found that although one day of refrigeration didn’t make much difference, refrigeration at 3 and 7 days did have a lasting effect.
So what side are you on? Do you refrigerate or not? And why? To keep them fresh or do you do it because your mom did it? Have you noticed a decline in flavor when you do refrigerate? Will this info change your mind?
Do tell,
~Mavis
Cristinasorina says
I’m in the never refrigerate camp as well. I hate how bland refrigerated tomatoes taste.
Tammy says
I’ve never refrigerated tomatoes from our garden, and since we’ve grown tomatoes I rarely buy tomatoes any more (especially the big ones, they taste so yucky). However, we didn’t have a garden this year so I have bought more than usual. I left some out on the counter and the seeds SPROUTED on the inside with no indication on the outside that they were doing so!
Jonathan says
Like almost everything in life, it’s not black and white. When reading the study carefully you’ll find that storing the tomatoes at low temperature will only inhibit the flavor compounds during ripening. Do not put tomatoes in the fridge if they are still not completely ripe. Once the tomato is fully ripe, you can put it in the fridge to extend the shelf life without having much effect on the flavor. This is ideal if you have a few tomatoes that are in danger of going bad on the counter and you want to use them within 3 days. In this case it is perfectly fine to refrigerate the tomato without losing flavor.
Lauralli says
That’s funny that it’s a “new” study. I read 20 years ago not to refrigerate tomatoes because it ruins their flavor. So, I haven’t since then–homegrown or store bought. (However, a good rule of thumb is if the grocery stores don’t refrigerate the produce, you shouldn’t or at least don’t have to, either.) I have cut into tomatoes that have sprouted on the inside, too! I’ve never tried planting them, but I’ve been tempted to!
KC says
I don’t refrigerate homegrown tomatoes, with the exceptions of needing to “hold” tomatoes at peak ripeness if I can’t deal with them all. I refrigerate grocery store tomatoes (which have generally already spent some quality time in the fridge).
Basically, the exceptions are:
1. if the tomato has already been refrigerated, then you’re not gaining anything by leaving it out of the fridge (except for the time it takes to bring it to room temperature for eating – that’s gain!)
2. if the tomato would rot at room temperature before you eat it, but will be fine in the fridge, then you get one more tomato by refrigerating it – yes, it won’t ripen more once you’ve left it in the fridge for a certain amount of time, but at a certain point, that’s more of a good thing than a bad thing
http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-you-can-and-sometimes-should-refrigerate-tomatoes.html
Deborah says
Living in Tucson, Arizona it’s not really an option to leave Tomatoes out when it’s hot weather. (Unless you have super cold AC) They go bad really fast. Home grown would probably last longer. I know there are varieties that grow well here, but I’ve never had good luck growing them, and the cost a fortune each with the watering.