Cooks and Meals Security Specialists Share Tips on how to Retailer Tomatoes

Everybody has a tough ingredient that spoils sooner than they anticipate, and mine is tomatoes. Like citrus fruits want breathable baggage and potatoes want wire baskets, tomatoes want the fitting tools to last more. I purchase tomatoes on the vine from my native grocery retailer virtually each week — and each time, I’m left greedy at straws to rearrange my meal plans to make use of the tomatoes earlier. A number of cooks and meals security specialists say I’m doing the whole lot mistaken, and you could be, too.

In keeping with Meals Scientist and Educator Abbey Thiel, PhD, “The commonest mistake is placing complete tomatoes within the fridge.” She explains that tomatoes saved within the fridge cross a “chilling threshold,” beneath which taste compounds change from vivid and contemporary to boring or musty. Chef Accursio Lota, California-based co-owner of Dora, agrees and provides that you simply additionally shouldn’t wash tomatoes earlier than storing them: “Water removes the tomato’s pure protecting bloom on the pores and skin. As soon as that layer is stripped away, tomatoes spoil extra rapidly.” (Responsible as charged on this one!)

“Letting them breathe and ripen naturally is essential, as a result of that’s the way you get that juicy texture and taste,” says Matthew McClure, govt chef at Woodstock Inn & Resort. He spreads contemporary complete tomatoes out on racks at room temperature throughout peak season, all the time in a single layer to keep away from bruising and maximize airflow. However this isn’t the one tidbit I bought from the tomato specialists I spoke to. Whether or not you retain complete tomatoes contemporary on the countertop, sliced tomatoes contained within the fridge, or tomato sauce stowed within the freezer, skilled cooks have lots to say about one of the best ways to retailer tomatoes in every state of affairs — listed below are their finest suggestions.

Finest Tomato Storage Instruments Total

• Bam & Boo Pure Bamboo Serving Tray, $18
• Antopy 3-Tier Fruit Basket, $26, initially $34
• Hipiwe Pure Rattan Fruit Basket, $14, initially $15
• Netany 16-Ounce Glass Jars, Set of 6, $19, initially $24
• Rubbermaid Brilliance Glass Meals Storage Containers, Set of 4, $31

Bam & Boo Pure Bamboo Serving Tray

City Farm and Kitchen Backyard Educator Luay Ghafari shops his tomatoes the other way up on a bamboo tray. “Tomatoes ripen first on the blossom finish,” he says. “The shoulders are the final a part of the tomato to ripen absolutely. Storing them the other way up retains the tomatoes juicier and brisker for longer on the counter. The bamboo tray helps with air circulation.” Snag this bamboo tray in numerous sizes, relying on what number of tomatoes you retain at one time.

Antopy 3-Tier Fruit Basket

In keeping with Chef Vivian Villa, founding father of Unbutter, “Ripe tomatoes are finest saved within the open on the counter away from different veggies.” To maintain your massive tomato inventory confined to 1 vertical house, use this ethereal,3-tier wire basket set, which incorporates two large grids for giant tomatoes and one tight grid that’s excellent for grape or cherry tomatoes. The tiers disassemble, so you can too use this basket to separate tomatoes from different ethylene gas-releasing produce, comparable to bananas, apples, and avocados.

Hipiwe Pure Rattan Fruit Basket

“A pure rattan or straw basket is right for storing contemporary produce,” says Lota. “It permits airflow, prevents moisture buildup, and retains tomatoes from bruising. I all the time advocate loosely overlaying the basket with a light-weight fabric serviette for added safety with out trapping humidity.”

Solino House Linen Kitchen Towels, Set of two

For those who’re following Lota’s recommendation on utilizing a towel-covered straw basket, you’ll want these linen kitchen towels. Not solely do the towels permit for ample airflow and stop moisture buildup, however linen can also be a pure fiber that received’t shed microplastics over time like microfiber. Plus, Solino House’s linen merchandise have carried out exceptionally effectively in our product checks.

Netany 16-Ounce Glass Jars, Set of 6

Entire contemporary tomatoes aren’t the one kind which will want storing. In keeping with Chef Renee Guilbault, the CEO of Harry’s Well-known Sauce, unused tomatoes or tomato sauce ought to by no means be saved of their unique cans. “As soon as uncovered to air, the can’s lining can work together with the tomato’s acidity and provides a metallic style,” she says. To keep away from plastic, which might take in flavors or stain, we advocate these freezer-safe glass meals storage containers with hermetic lids. Guilbault recommends fridge storage for as much as 5 days or freezer storage for as much as three months. “And when you’re freezing, depart some headspace — tomatoes broaden when frozen and can stage a riot in your freezer when you do not give them room!”

Rubbermaid Brilliance Glass Meals Storage Containers, Set of 4

Relating to the right way to retailer minimize tomatoes, Guilbault likes to refrigerate them cut-side down in an hermetic container. Whether or not you will have a bunch of tomato chunks or a few tomato halves, these glass containers can deal with it. Guilbault additionally locations a paper towel within the container to soak up extra moisture and says utilizing the tomatoes inside a few days is finest. She provides, “When doubtful, flip leftover tomatoes into sauce.”