# August tomatoes--does putting them in the fridge ruin them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036 "2016-08-17T01:03:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036/21 "2016-08-21T21:05:33Z")
We’ve had a bumper crop this summer. Those that aren’t consumed at one sitting\* go into the fridge, and taste just fine if eaten within a few days. In fact, the best-tasting tomato I’ve had this summer was a home-grown beefsteak type that was sliced cold into my salad (especially good with a few Baco-bits). I am curious how a tomato could lose “enzyme activity” (and thus flavor) in the fridge, but magically recover the enzyme activity when warmed back to room temp. I suspect this is utter bullshit. \*our black Lab plucked a big ripe one off the vine the other day and happily downed the whole thing, chomping away and expelling juice and seeds out the sides of her mouth. She eagerly eats cold slices too. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036/22 "2016-08-21T22:00:51Z")
A neighbor gave me some home grown tomatoes and I put them in the fridge b/c I don’t like warm tomatoes in my salad . ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036/23 "2016-08-22T03:03:59Z")
somehow I missed the part where you only wanted science, not my 45 years of tomato eating experience. My bad. Here’s your science: [Home conservation strategies for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum): storage temperature vs. duration--is there a compromise for better aroma preservation? - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23561178) Counter wins. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036/24 "2016-08-22T14:11:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Well, [this article](http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/why-you-should-refrigerate-tomatoes.html) actually tested this out by putting home grown tomatoes in the fridge. > > They discovered that they didn’t taste any different from those left out, and they kept longer. > > The issue is that you shouldn’t put _supermarket_ tomatoes in the fridge. They are picked unripe and won’t ripen when cold and will have all the problems people cite. All studies of refrigeration of tomatoes used the supermarket ones to test. > > Home grown tomatoes are just fine if picked when fully ripe. News Flash - Supermarket tomatoes have already been refrigerated for a variable length of time. Tomatoes are picked at the green-ripe stage (any that are riper than that are discarded), washed, graded, boxed, and stored in refrigerators the size of a basketball court. When they are about to be shipped - which can be weeks to months later - the cooler is flooded with ethylene gas for 24 hours. The boxed tomatoes are then loaded on the trucks and sent to market. By the time they get there they have turned red (Ripe :dubious: ). Worked in a tomato packing house during college summer break. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/august-tomatoes-does-putting-them-in-the-fridge-ruin-them/763036.md?page=1)