Storage wars
September 9, 2014 by DarcieNothing says summer like fresh tomatoes. And apparently nothing stirs up debate like how to store them. Alton Brown is adamant: never, ever store your fresh tomatoes in the refrigerator. Over at Serious Eats, Daniel Gritzer says unequivocally that you should refrigerate tomatoes and ignore anyone who says otherwise. Why is there such a difference in opinion from two respected sources?
Brown’s reasoning has to do with a key flavor compound in tomatoes known as (Z)-3-hexenal. If this compound drops below 50 degrees F, it “is just going to flip itself off like a chemical switch … permanently.” Conversely, Gritzer claims that tomatoes left on the counter can get “too ripe, losing flavor and texture in the process.”
Earlier this summer Gritzer performed a short experiment on the effects of storing supermarket tomatoes in the refrigerator vs. on the counter. The results of that testing led to another, more involved test on fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmers’ market. The result? If they had a preference (approximately half didn’t), testers favored the refrigerated tomatoes. To explain this apparent discrepancy, Gritzer opines that while optimal storage temperature for tomatoes is between 55 and 70 degrees F, not many home kitchens remain that cool during the summer. Therefore fully-ripened tomatoes that sit out at temperatures above 70 degrees lose both flavor and texture. The refrigerator protects them from excess heat.
His advice is to only buy as many tomatoes as you will eat in one or two days. If your tomatoes are not fully ripe, let them ripen before moving them to colder storage. Once ripe, store tomatoes for up to a day at room temperature, but then move them to the fridge. Another tip: if you have a wine fridge, store your ripe tomatoes there, because it isn’t as cold as your regular refrigerator.
Where do you weigh in on the storage debate – do you ever refrigerate tomatoes?
Photo of Mini Caprese skewers from indexed blog Skinnytaste
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