Tomatoes in the fridge? A no-go!

Here you will find out how the wonderful aroma of tomatoes unfolds and why they have no place in the refrigerator.

As a child, you actually learned that vegetables and fruit keep longer in the refrigerator and must therefore be stored in a cool place. However, this does not apply to all fruits. Tomatoes in particular need a warm storage temperature. Because a tomato from the refrigerator usually just tastes bland and watery. You can find out here why this is the case and why a tomato should definitely not be kept in the refrigerator.

What makes a good tomato taste?

Everyone knows the good taste of a tomato freshly harvested in summer. Ripe and straight from the tomato plant, it couldn't be better! The ratio of carbohydrates (glucose and fructose) and fruit acids is crucial for good taste. For example, if a tomato is overripe, acids such as malic acid are missing. The result: the tomato tastes floury and somehow not really like tomato. In addition to these two important characteristics, there are a further 24 fragrances and flavors that researchers from the USA have identified as being relevant to taste. What these other ingredients have in common is that they are quite volatile. This means that if a tomato does not produce enough of these flavors, they will gradually be lost. And that's exactly where the problem lies!

The fridge as a taste killer?

At least for tomatoes, this question can be answered in the affirmative. A freshly harvested tomato lives on after the harvest and has a lively metabolism. If this were not the case, tomatoes would not be able to ripen. The metabolism works, depending on the variety, but only at temperatures around approx. 15 ° C or higher in sufficient form. In the refrigerator, i.e. at approx. 7 ° C, the volatile flavors are no longer properly reproduced. The already contained flavors gradually evaporate. The tomato loses a lot of its aroma precisely because of the broken off stalk. The influence of cold and “sessile” are the main reasons why the fruit in the refrigerator loses more of its taste every day. After a week of storage in the refrigerator, you can therefore assume that the tomato will have already lost a large number of aromatic substances. If you want to keep your tomato dishes in the refrigerator for just one day, that's certainly not a big problem.

Proper storage of tomatoes

So that your tomatoes do not lose any taste, storage at 12 to 15 ° C makes sense. You should keep in mind that higher temperatures lead to a shorter shelf life. In addition, the red fruits are happy when you place them on a soft surface. Fully ripe tomatoes are very sensitive to pressure. Incidentally, tomatoes lose water when they are stored and must therefore be airy. A plastic bag must never be used as a storage sleeve. But also note that tomatoes give off a ripening gas. This is completely natural and can lead to faster ripening of other types of fruit such as apples and bananas. As everyone knows, after ripening, overripe and thus rot quickly come. This is why you should not store tomatoes next to other fruits unless you want them to ripen more quickly.

Did you know: With their 25 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, tomatoes are not exactly one of the vitamin bombs. However, the vitamin C is retained for a long time by the fruit acids and is hardly broken down during storage. Tomatoes can still be used as a good source of vitamin C even after they have been stored for a long time.

If you heed this tip, you can expect tasty and aromatic fruits for your personal favorite tomato dishes.