What is the best way to ripen already picked tomatoes and avoid them from becoming "hard"?
Posted on Jul 29, 2009 under Best Tomatoes | 13 CommentsOnce I bring nice juicy tomatoes indoors, they sometimes seem to turn very firm and hard almost overnight. I have tried a sunny windowsill, in the fridge, etc.
What makes them develop such a hard thick skin so fast?
If you pick the tomatoes already ripe…eat them and/ or share them with others. They will simply continue to "ripen" once picked. If you pick them and they are not quite ripe, or if you find them fallen from the vines and they aren’t ripe, place on a sunny window sill, stem side down to ripen. If you need to ripen them quickly, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple; apples emit ethylene gas which hastens the ripening process; and they should be ripe in a day or so. Good luck!
Please Don't Throw (Any More Tomatoes At Me) by Peter Cooper
July 30th, 2009 at 2:18 am
IN THE WINDOW SILL
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MY SELF
July 30th, 2009 at 2:58 am
Put in the refrigerator.
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July 30th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Sunny windowsills and the refrigerator are both BAD places to store tomatoes. If they need further ripening, put them in a brown bag in a cool spot (NOT the refrigerator). If they are ready to eat, EAT ‘EM. Sadly, perfect tomatoes don’t stay perfect very long, so eat and enjoy when they are at their peak.
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July 30th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Put them in the sun or a paperbag for a day or 2
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July 30th, 2009 at 4:50 am
I have always used the windowsill — maybe it is the type of tomato – ask a specialist in a Nursery near you.
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July 30th, 2009 at 5:26 am
I have heard you can pick them green and let them ripen in a paper bag in a dark place. Not sure if it will change the texture of the skin but, they seem to turn out pretty good.
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July 30th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Set them on the counter top. Room temperature is best, for ripening. Refrigeration will just make your tomatoes mushy.
If your tomatoes are getting hard it may be the type of tomato, not the ripening method.
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July 30th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Pears are the same way when first picked so what I do is put them in a paper bag to soften them up.
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July 30th, 2009 at 6:39 am
If you pick the tomatoes already ripe…eat them and/ or share them with others. They will simply continue to "ripen" once picked. If you pick them and they are not quite ripe, or if you find them fallen from the vines and they aren’t ripe, place on a sunny window sill, stem side down to ripen. If you need to ripen them quickly, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple; apples emit ethylene gas which hastens the ripening process; and they should be ripe in a day or so. Good luck!
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July 30th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Paper bags work, and we also used to wrap them in newspaper. While vine-ripened tomatoes are the juciest and the best for eating plain or juice-making, tomatoes that are ripened off the vine are less juicy, but excellent for making homemade pasta sauce.
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July 30th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Put them in a brown paper bag or wrap them in newspaper until you are ready to use.
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July 30th, 2009 at 8:28 am
either put them in the fridge or in the window. If they are getting hard only sometimes I would suspect its just the brand of tomatoes.
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July 30th, 2009 at 8:51 am
just sit them in the sun but not directly in the sun
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