Aside from summer’s endless garden fresh tomatoes, I (Litsa) must say that Campari Tomatoes are my absolute favorite throughout the year! We enjoy feasting on them when summer gardens aren’t producing tasty tomatoes. However, we never, ever refrigerate them! They are always found sitting on our counter top and/or our window sill (depending on how soon we intend to use them).
Cooking Light (June 2014) issue noted that, “It may sound counterintuitive—the refrigerator preserves a lot of other vegetables and fruit, after all—but the fact is that the cold damages the membranes in tomato cell walls, bruising the delicate flesh and compromising both taste and texture. The typical result is a mealy, bland tomato, a particular tragedy when you’re dealing with $4 heirloom farmers’ market treasures. Instead, store your tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight with the stem end up to avoid bruising.”
Typically, our store bought Campari tomatoes are $3.99 for 6-8 small tomatoes. Thus, we want to enjoy all of them rather than damaging them. Storing them at room temperature is imperative for their taste and texture. Even when you slice into them at room temperature, you notice the juices flowing.
I (Litsa) sometimes like a crisp coolness to my tomatoes in my salads. Thus, if I’ve just sliced room temperature tomatoes and I’m still cutting up the rest of my ingredients for my salad, I might place the sliced tomatoes in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes (no more than two) to cool. However with heirloom and/or Campari tomato’s taste/texture, you’ll instantly notice that the taste is garden fresh.
If you’ve ever eaten a tomato right out of the garden, you’ll know that room temperature for quality tomatoes is BEST! If you have green tomatoes, checkout my tip for ripening tomatoes.
Cooking Light June 2014 Storage Info Credit
Latest posts by Litsa @How to Have it All (see all)
- Mushrooms: Portobello, Morels, & More - April 25, 2016
- Giving Back: Get Involved - December 2, 2015
- The Autumn Advantage - December 1, 2015
