# Keeping Tomatoes Out of the Refridgerator **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360 "2009-08-04T23:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/1 "2009-08-04T23:25:14Z")
Putting tomatoes in the fridge dulls their flavor so I want to keep mine outside. This is of course fine before slicing. How about sliced tomatoes in a “tuperware” container on the counter.? Will they keep? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/2 "2009-08-04T23:48:28Z")
They will be dangerous to eat. Once you slice them you have to refrigerate them. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/3 "2009-08-05T00:06:42Z")
Yep. We’re tossing about half a bushel. We’re tomatoed out right now. But come next summer, we’ll be frothing at the mouth as always. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/4 "2009-08-05T00:08:33Z")
Why can’t you can them, stewed? Or better yet, dilled when they’re still green? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/5 "2009-08-05T00:08:38Z")
Agree. Pretty much any fruit or vegetable is subject to quick spoilage once you break nature’s Tupperware container open. (Although not sure if I’d call it dangerous. You don’t too hear much about food poisoning from non-animal source foods, but I guess it happens.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/6 "2009-08-05T00:17:18Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Why can’t you can them, stewed? Or better yet, dilled when they’re still green? We worry about canning. Improperly done, it’s dangerous, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/7 "2009-08-05T00:24:04Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > We worry about canning. Improperly done, it’s dangerous, isn’t it? Yes and over ripe tomatoes are not safe to can. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/8 "2009-08-05T00:38:53Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Yes and over ripe tomatoes are not safe to can. Don’t they ferment? Anyway, in general terms, non-protein foods generally keep longer than protein foods (meat). But tomatoes are kinda sensitive in that way. Even leaving them out on a counter doesn’t guarantee that they won’t rapidly get smushy or attacked by a random fly or bug. And as always kids, when you slice them, let the KNIFE do the work. Don’t press to hard or you get too much tomato juice! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/9 "2009-08-05T00:42:42Z")
We pick our tomatoes at the first sign of color and let them rippen in our kitchen bay window. Otherwise, birds get them. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/10 "2009-08-05T01:27:23Z")
Why not make a tomato sauce and freeze it? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/11 "2009-08-05T01:46:22Z")
My mother canned stewed and dill tomatoes for decades, without a problem. My favorite was dill cherry tomatoes. Yes, like everything else, you have to do it right. There are also many recipes for homemade salsa. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/12 "2009-08-05T02:21:37Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Why not make a tomato sauce and freeze it? Damn. That sounds like a great idea! Incidently, @ the OP: That’s exactly why store-bought tomatoes taste mealy and bland. They are transported and stored in refrigerated containers. Beware when you buy tomatoes from curbside sellers. They often are selling tomatoes that have been refrigerated. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/13 "2009-08-05T03:31:34Z")
You can also make your own [ketchup](http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blcon13.htm) . . . or sun-dry them. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/14 "2009-08-05T04:20:19Z")
Canning, done right, is not dangerous. Go get a Ball® Blue Book, the bible of canning. Follow the directions, and you’ll be fine. Eat what you can, and what you can’t, you can. Cook’s Illustrated says to place your room-temperature tomatoes stem side down for longer keeping. (not the canned ones.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/15 "2009-08-05T04:54:07Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You can also make your own [ketchup](http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blcon13.htm) . . . or sun-dry them. What is a “non-reactive saucepan”? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/16 "2009-08-05T05:09:29Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > What is a “non-reactive saucepan”? Reactive pans react with food, especially acidic foods such as tomatoes. Aluminum and copper pans are reactive. Nonreactive pans are typically enamel over steel or stainless steel. When you buy a Ball canning kit, you get a big old enameled steel pot. I’ve got at bumper crop of tomatoes coming in and I’m buying a dehydrator to make sun dried tomatoes. I’m going to try and pickle some green tomatoes too. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/17 "2009-08-05T15:21:13Z")
I’ve made wine from bananas , strawberries, and of course grapes. I have heard of people making wine from onions, dandelions, and [tomatos as well.](http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~goodwine/tomatowine.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/18 "2009-08-05T15:29:05Z")
I have found that if you pick the tomatoes after they have been red on the vine for a few days, they can be put into the fridge for a week or two, and the flavor isn’t dulled at all. ---
**Author:** ![leandroc76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@leandroc76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leandroc76)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/19 "2009-08-05T15:41:13Z")
What most don’t realize, is that a rippened tomato will never lose its flavor, just because it’s refridgerated. A \*rippening \*tomato will however, refridgeration slows the rippening process. Don’t un-rippened tomatoes in the fridge until they are completely rippened. That means you should leave the tomato out, _in the sun_, until completely red. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360/20 "2009-08-05T16:05:51Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Why not make a tomato sauce and freeze it? You can also freeze whole tomatoes. When thawed out, they are no longer good for salads, etc., but can be used for soups, casseroles, etc. And it’s very easy to peel a frozen tomato: put it in hot water for a short time, and the skin peels off. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-tomatoes-out-of-the-refridgerator/505360.md?page=2)