The Best Kept Secret For Fresh Tomato Storage

A fresh tomato is a thing of beauty. Vine-ripened, smelling of sunshine and summer, ready to be layered in juicy tomato sandwiches or turned into the best tomato sauce you've ever had — a flavorful, fresh tomato puts the flavorless mealy conventional store ones to shame. It's just a fact. So when you get your hands on the precious gem that is a freshly picked tomato, it's worth knowing how to best store it to prolong that peak just-picked freshness as long as possible. We've all forgotten a tomato on the countertop or in the fridge only to find a sad wrinkly mess that has to be tossed. To reduce wasting any of the precious goods and keep your 'maters in their peak state for as long as possible, flip them upside down and store your fresh tomatoes in this position until you're ready to eat. 

It might be counterintuitive to turn them on their head — more likely than not you've been setting them stem-side up since, well, always. But it's the easiest and best way to prevent moisture loss and keep tomatoes as plump and supple as the day they were picked. Storing them upside down effectively seals off the stem area, the weak spot, so to speak, through which moisture is typically lost, thus leading to wrinkly, shriveled-up fruit that goes bad sooner than you'd like. Flipping 'em keeps tomatoes looking and tasting their best, and helps ward off decay and mold.

Wrinkly or slightly past their prime tomatoes aren't lost causes (so long as there are no signs of rot or mold). You can always make and freeze a quick tomato sauce or use it in dishes like roasted tomato pies, where less-than-optimal texture won't even be noticeable. But when savoring them in salads, a classic tomato sandwich, or plain, thickly sliced and sprinkled with salt, you want your tomatoes as juicy as possible. And retaining moisture is key for optimal flavor and enjoyment. 

The stem area where tomatoes are plucked from when harvested can become an easy spot for air and moisture to enter and exit from, which hastens up the process of decay and alters the flavor and texture of the once-perfect produce. Storing them upside down seals off this area, halting this process in its tracks. And the tip works on both conventional grocery store varieties or fresher, heirloom tomatoes, and whether you're storing them in the fridge or on the countertop. 

When picking tomatoes from the garden that aren't quite ripe, keep them stem side down as they ripen over the next few days. If using this tip for store-bought ones, gently remove any excess vine still attached and turn them on their head. If you don't eat up your fresh tomatoes immediately (which is all too easy to do), rest assured knowing you've bought yourself a bit more time to enjoy one of nature's best creations.