How to keep tomatoes fresh: Avoid common storage mistakes

We buy tomatoes by the pound. They are at their best and can be enjoyed practically from morning till evening. However, to savour their taste, it’s good to know how to store them properly. These vegetables can mould very quickly, and you need to take steps to avoid throwing them away.

Tomatoes are extremely delicate and can spoil quickly, so it's important to take proper care of them when you bring them home. Mistakes happen often. And it’s not just about not storing them in the fridge.

One of our most common mistakes is storing tomatoes in the fridge. Although it may intuitively seem that cold temperatures will help preserve their freshness, they lose flavour and change texture. They become mealy and lose their aroma. Another mistake is sealing tomatoes in plastic bags. Lack of airflow causes moisture to accumulate, which accelerates moulding.

It's important for tomatoes to have access to air and not be crowded in one container. Storing them on the kitchen counter or in an open bowl allows for even ripening and keeps them fresh for a few days. That’s why containers that provide proper air circulation are beneficial. Ideal solutions are mesh baskets or ceramic bowls with holes. These containers prevent the accumulation of moisture, which causes rotting. Another way to prolong the freshness of tomatoes is to store them with their stems. The stem helps maintain the tomatoes' condition and delays their wilting process.

However, you don’t always have the option to buy tomatoes with stems. But even when vegetables are without them, how you arrange them makes a big difference. A culinary magazine, “Cook’s Illustrated”, experimented. They left two batches of tomatoes with removed stems at room temperature in the kitchen for a few days: one batch was placed with the stem end up, and the other was the opposite. It turned out that tomatoes lying stem-down moulded much slower than the others. Why is this important? Storing the tomato at room temperature with the stem end down prevents air from entering through the exposed area near the stem.