Best way to ripen tomatoes inside?

Posted on Jun 27, 2009 under Best Tomatoes | 12 Comments

It's beginning to freeze at night. We have about 100 tomatoes that are still green and on the stem. We cut the stems and brought them inside. What's the best way to ripen them? Thanks!!

Place them in a brown paper bag

When are tomatoes in the grocery store best?

12 Responses to “Best way to ripen tomatoes inside?”

  1. Mommyk232 Says:

    Place them in a brown paper bag
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  2. eeeeeeeeclipse Says:

    Just put them in a brown paperbag and fold shut. Works great!
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  3. bigmommaboss1 Says:

    put them in the window
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  4. staceygab Says:

    If you put a very ripe apple in the bag with it it really speads things up.
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  5. Claudia Says:

    I also had the same problem living in PA. I have yellow & roma tomatoes, so I put them all in paper bags and put them in my mudroom. (This was probably at the beginning of October) and I actually forgot about them. My dad opened the bag this week and they have turned color!! Good luck.
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  6. acid tongue Says:

    on the windowsill in the sun
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  7. drox Says:

    put em in a paper bag w/ bananas
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  8. steviewag Says:

    Actually, fried green tomatoes are quite good. Or make green tomato chutney. Even my mother's recipe for chili sauce calls for some green tomatoes. To ripen quickly, either put an apple or a banana in with the tomatoes in a closed basket and cover. The natural ethylene gas exuded by the ripening fruit will accelerate the ripening process in the tomatoes. This is how ripening of various fruits is achieved commercially, only the ethylene is from a commercial source. For regular ripening, wrap either in individual brown paper bags so they don't rub against one another and bruise, or wrap individually in sheets of newspaper. Then wash afterwards. Never wash first, as traces of moisture will rot the tomatoes. Oh, yes, is tomato a fruit or vegetable? The tomato is in the Nightshade family; that is why they were originally grown only as ornamentals in the 1800s because they were thought to be poisonous, since they are related to poisonous nightshade. They were then called "love apples"–don't ask me why… Botanically, the tomato is classed as a berry, yes, a berry, but it is used like a vegetable. So that should clear that up. In nature, tomatoes are very small; it is only through many years of propagation and hybridization and selective breeding that they have become what we are familiar with today.
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  9. michele Says:

    as a child on a small farm, I remember we would paint tthen with vinegar and wrap them in newspaper and put them in the basement . I'm not sure how long. Always when the first frost was coming.
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  10. Cassie Says:

    whether you just put them on the kitchen window sill or put them in a paper bag……they will best be used for cooking….I always notice that they are not as firm when you pick them early…good taste so why not cook with them….they are just a little meaty
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  11. artcherman Says:

    a window or brown paper bag
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  12. plantbywaters Says:

    Put them in a paper bag or box (to breathe) with ripe apples or bananas. The gases in these fruits has the same effect on the tomato, which is also technically, a fruit.
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