How to Store Tomatoes (and Whether to Refrigerate Them)

Some people say that you should never refrigerate tomatoes. Is this really true?

I’ve been told for so long, by so many people, not to refrigerate my tomatoes that I’m not sure if I’ve ever done anything other than leave them on my counter. But the question has made me think back on it, and to be honest, I can remember losing quite a few beautiful summer tomatoes over the years to rapid rot and decomposition, because they were sitting out in sweltering heat.

And I think this gets right to the core of the trouble with this rule: While refrigerators tend to operate within a narrow band of temperatures, usually in the 35-to-40°F (2-to-4°C) zone, the actual temperature of most rooms can range anywhere from about 60°F (16°C) to upwards of 100°F (38°C), particularly if it’s an un-air-conditioned space at the height of summer. Right now, for example, I’m typing this while sitting in my sweltering apartment, and I’d guess—based on the amount of sweat soaking from my lower back into my chair—that it’s at least 90°F (32°C) in here. Is 90° really better for a tomato than 37°F (3°C)? And if so, for how long?

To answer these questions, I set up a series of experiments that spanned an entire summer and included literally hundreds upon hundreds of tomatoes of different sources, varieties, and quality and ripeness levels, and recruited a small army of blind-tasters to evaluate the results. I even asked Kenji to run the same tests over in California, just to make sure my results were reproducible.

Before I get to my testing details, let me first explain my results and offer some recommendations, right up front. They’re controversial only because they buck what has become conventional and deep-rooted wisdom; but really, what I found makes a lot of sense.

Should You Refrigerate Tomatoes? Here’s the Short Answer

If Your Tomatoes Have Never Been Refrigerated (i.e., if you grew them yourself or bought them from a farmers market stand you trust, in season):

• Remove the stems and store unripe tomatoes upside down on a plate or cutting board at room temperature until they fully ripen. (Why upside down? Read Kenji’s article on why stem side down is best.)
• Consume fully ripened tomatoes immediately.
• Refrigerate any unconsumed fully ripe tomatoes, but allow them to come to room temperature before serving them. (To speed up this process, slice them while still cold—slices will warm up much more quickly than an intact fruit.) One study we’ve read suggests that refrigerating for no longer than three days is optimal.*

If Your Tomatoes Have Been Refrigerated (i.e., if you got them anywhere other than your backyard or the farmers market, in season):

• Leave them at room temperature until fully ripe, then store them in the refrigerator until ready to use.

*If you are inclined to read the full study, you can do so here. But this is the relevant quote: “Red ripe fruits were stored at 5°C for 1, 3, or 7 d followed by a recovery period of either 1 or 3 d at 20°C, and volatiles were measured. Compared with the day of harvest (day 0), no significant loss of flavor volatile content was observed after 1 or 3 d of cold storage.”

It’s as simple as that. Now, here’s the (brief, for now) explanation.

The Reasons Behind Different Storage Methods

A refrigerator is cold—colder than is ideal for tomatoes. This is a basic fact, and it’s the fact upon which the “never refrigerate a tomato” rule is based. But that rule fails to acknowledge several real-world conditions that can complicate things. It also fails to recognize that not all tomatoes are affected by refrigeration equally.

So here’s what you need to know: Leave your tomatoes at room temp for as long as possible, especially if they’re still a little shy of hitting their peak ripeness. Once they hit their apex, though, you need to either eat them right away or refrigerate them. The refrigerator can buy you some time before the tomatoes begin to break down and eventually rot—something that can happen several hours after the tomato has peaked. And a refrigerated ripe tomato holds up and tastes better than one that has been left out at room temperature beyond its prime, especially if you allow the refrigerated one to return to room temperature before eating it.

And here’s the other thing to know: The refrigerator is not great for tomatoes—it can degrade their texture and dampen their flavor—but it’s far more harmful to lower-quality and underripe tomatoes than it is to truly ripe, delicious ones. Top-quality, in-season, picked-straight-from-the-vine ripe tomatoes do much better in the fridge than most conventional tomatoes from large industrial operations.