by A tomato is not a potato – it cannot be stored all winter. But what if we try? Well, maybe not until spring – at least until the New Year. Is it possible? Let’s try to figure it out.
Sowing seeds and getting tomato seedlings is, of course, difficult. Growing a harvest while avoiding diseases and natural disasters is even more difficult. But the biggest problems arise for those who want to preserve the harvest of fresh tomatoes without subjecting them to heat treatment. After all, this vegetable is not designed for long-term storage.
What is needed to keep fresh tomatoes for a long time
The shelf life of tomatoes depends on many factors. All of them are equally important.
1. Correct collection
The first step to successful and long-term storage of tomatoes is proper harvesting of the fruit. Tomatoes should be picked from the bushes on a dry day. You can start harvesting after there are no drops of dew left on the fruit.
It is not worth delaying harvesting until the cold weather. Temperatures below 4-5°C have a detrimental effect on green and milky ripe tomatoes: they lose the ability to ripen outside the bushes.
It has been proven that tomatoes lose moisture through the stalk. American chef Jay Kenji Lopez-Alt conducted an interesting experiment. He divided tomatoes into two groups. He taped up the stalk attachment point of one group, and left it open in the other. And what do you think? The tomatoes with the tape remained juicy, while their counterparts lost moisture. To avoid this, store tomatoes with the stalk down.
2. Preparation for storage
To keep tomatoes as fresh as possible, follow these rules:
- Select only absolutely healthy fruits for storage. They should not have dents, spots, scratches, cracks, etc. All these external defects are not so harmless. They can become a gateway for infections. And one diseased tomato is a threat to the entire harvest.
- For long-term storage, fleshy tomatoes with thick skins, with mid-late and late ripening periods, are best suited. Of the varieties, pay attention to Long Keeper, De Barao, Giraffe, New Year’s and more.
- Sort the tomatoes by maturity: ripe, brown, milky ripe (white), green. They all differ from each other in ripening time, and therefore in storage time. Never store overripe tomatoes.
- Separate large fruits from small ones. As it turns out, size also affects ripening time. Small tomatoes need more time to reach maturity, so their shelf life is longer. According to experts, fruits weighing about 60 g are best stored.
- Do not place ripe tomatoes next to those you want to save. The fact is that such fruits emit ethylene, which accelerates the ripening process of tomatoes lying nearby. For the same reason, by the way, it is undesirable to place them next to some fruits, such as apples and pears.
3. Optimal storage conditions
If you want to store tomatoes at home for a long time, create the right conditions for them. Tomatoes are very sensitive to humidity and temperature, so pay special attention to these characteristics.
Humidity requirements for all tomatoes are the same: it should be within 85-90%. If the humidity level is lower, the tomatoes will start to dry out; if it is higher, they will rot. However, the storage temperature for fruits of different ripeness will differ.
| Degree of maturity | Ideal storage temperature |
| Ripe | 0-2 ° С |
| Brown | 4-6 ° С |
| White (milk ripeness) | 8-10 ° С |
| Green | 12-14 ° С |
Can you store tomatoes in the refrigerator
How many lances have been broken, how many words have been said for and against storing tomatoes in the refrigerator! So where is the truth? And it is, as often happens in such cases, somewhere in the middle.
The unique tomato taste and aroma of this vegetable is given by a complex combination of many different acids, sugars and volatile substances. The latter are very sensitive to low temperatures. When you put a tomato in the refrigerator, these substances begin to break down. And what do we get as a result? A tomato taken out of the refrigerator no longer attracts us with its taste or aroma. But at a temperature of about 20°C, on the contrary, the amount of the above-mentioned substances increases. So the answer is clear: you can’t store it in the refrigerator?
But it’s not that simple. Remember what the temperature is usually in your apartment? If it’s between 12 and 20°C, then you really shouldn’t put tomatoes in the refrigerator. But most people’s air warms up above 20°C. And in such conditions, tomatoes are stored much worse and spoil faster. What’s more important to you: a fragrant but rotten tomato or a not so tasty but not spoiled one? It’s up to you to decide.
To help you decide, we would like to give you 2 pieces of advice:
- Before eating tomatoes, take them out of the refrigerator and let them warm up to room temperature. This will make them taste better.
- If you keep your tomatoes indoors for about a week after storing them in the refrigerator, their aroma will return, albeit partially.
Thus, if you have fully ripened fruits and you are not going to store them for more than 1-2 days, you should certainly not put tomatoes in the refrigerator. But if you want to store tomatoes for a longer period, it is better to put them there. However, choose a place for them away from the freezer: put them either in the vegetable basket or on the door. The temperature in this part of the refrigerator is higher.
How to Store Tomatoes in a Country House
Do you have a wine cellar? You are lucky! Or rather, the tomatoes are lucky, because they will feel at home there. But what about the wine, you ask? What about the wine? The wine will have to make room a little. But in winter you will always have not only something to drink, but also something to eat!
But seriously, the temperature of a wine cellar – 10-14°C – is exactly what most tomatoes need for long-term storage. The closer the temperature is to the ideal (see the table above), the longer you can see fresh tomatoes on your table.
How to Store Ripe Tomatoes
If you want to extend the shelf life of ripe tomatoes, use the following method:
- Wipe the selected fruits with alcohol or a solution of potassium permanganate and let them dry completely.
- Take a plastic or wooden box with holes. The gaps are necessary for good ventilation. Cover the bottom of the container with any material that absorbs moisture. This can be parchment, burlap, straw or regular paper. Peat or dried sphagnum moss is ideal.
- Lay out the tomatoes in one layer. Sprinkle them with sawdust, straw or cover with another layer of paper. Put another maximum of one layer of fruit.
- Cover it all with sawdust again and store it in a cool, well-ventilated room.
Check your tomato boxes regularly. If you see a soft, overripe fruit, don’t leave it, but eat it right away.
How to Store Unripe Tomatoes
White and green tomatoes can be stored until mid-winter under the right conditions.
- Disinfect all fruits with alcohol and let them dry.
- Wrap each tomato in dark paper to protect it from light. Place all the fruits in one layer so that they do not touch each other.
- Cover the box with straw on top and leave it for storage in a ventilated room with a temperature of 8-10°C.
By the New Year, you will have ripe tomatoes grown by your own hands on your table. If you want to enjoy them earlier, just move the box to a warm place and place it closer to the light. And put 1-2 ripe fruits in there.
Where to store tomatoes in an apartment
It is more difficult to preserve the tomato harvest for a long time in an apartment, but it is also possible. What places are suitable for storage:
- Loggia. On a glazed loggia or balcony, the temperature, depending on the weather, can fluctuate from 10°C and higher. Tomatoes should like such conditions. Just do not forget to cover them from the sun, which accelerates the ripening of the fruits.
- The floor under the bed. Not 10°C, like on the loggia, but still cooler than in the kitchen cabinets.
- Under the bathtub. However, with this method of storage, monitor the humidity level and ventilate the bathroom more often.
Those with a cool and dark pantry are especially lucky. On the lower shelves or on the floor, tomatoes will feel quite comfortable. Not a wine cellar, of course, but better than in other places.
How to Keep Tomatoes Fresh in a Jar
You can store more than just money in a jar. We’ll put fresh tomatoes in there. When you take them out, they’ll still be fresh.
1 method
You will need clean sterilized jars, tomatoes and any vegetable oil. Place pre-washed and completely dried tomatoes in the jar and fill to the top with oil. The oil should cover the tomatoes completely, even with a little extra. Roll up the metal lid (also sterile) and forget about them until the New Year.
2 method
The jars should be sterilized again, the tomatoes washed, dried and placed in them. However, instead of oil, this time pour the fruits with a vinegar-salt solution. To prepare it, add 8 part vinegar and salt to 1 parts water. Roll up the jars.
3 method
For this you will need dry mustard powder. The preparatory stage is the same as for the previous methods. Put a row of dried tomatoes and sprinkle them with mustard. Cover with paper on top. Put another layer of tomatoes on the paper. And again – mustard and paper. And so on to the very top. Roll up and hide in a dark, cool place.
You shouldn’t put too many tomatoes in jars. Whatever the storage method, the fruits should have enough space.
If you prefer processed tomatoes, you can use our unique recipe. Its unusualness is that at first you start making one product, and at the end you get two.
How do you keep your tomato harvest fresh?
