How to keep your tomatoes from getting wrinkly

Perfectly ripe tomatoes are a favorite part of summer. Their brief season (brief, at least, to those of us in the far northern latitudes) is something people look forward to during the long winter months. Once the season hits, it is easy to get into trouble buying too much at the farmer’s market so proper storage is essential. Over at Serious Eats, Kenji López-Alt provides us with “one weird trick” for storing tomatoes that actually works. 

A few years ago, Kenji did a side-by-side testing that proved – contrary to conventional wisdom – that the refrigerator was actually the best place to store ripe tomatoes. You do need to return them to room temperature before eating for best results. Now Kenji has another tip, this time one that will prevent the tops of tomatoes from wrinkling if you are keeping them for a few days. 

The suggestion is simple: store tomatoes stem-side down on a plate. The reason this works is because while tomato skins keep moisture inside the tomato, it can escape through the fragile stem end once the stem is removed. Storing the tomatoes upside down keeps the moisture inside the tomato. Kenji repeated this test several times, achieving identical results in each instance. It’s great when a tip can be so simple and yet so effective.