When the tomatoes gets all rotted-up and collapse into mush on the vine, gardeners swear they were just a day or two away; a matter of hours’ difference between ripe and rotten. To help us do better, the how-to guide break down the process into six phases. These range from Hard Green Fruit to Soft Red Fruit. This helps us avoid harvesting them too soon when they are still hard, or too late when they are too rotten.
Learn to detect those little changes in color and texture so you’ll know when it’s time. Get to know the stages; then guess no more.
How to Pick and Store Tomatoes
The most critical transition occur between the breaker stage and the turning stage. At the breaker stage, there’s usually a little bit of orange or reddish color showing on the tomato, though it’s primarily still green. At this stage, the fruit can holds up longer, which is good if you want to ship them, or plan to eat them in several days’ time.
Pick the fruits at pink stage and you’ll sacrifice some flavor, but the tomato should ripen eventualy indoors. Notice how the fruit get softer as it ages. Firm tomatoes keep better then those that are already soft and ripe. When tomatoes is picked at the peak of ripeness, eat immediately.
Many people expect to see tomatoes uniformly bright red before eating, but sometimes nature just doesn’t cooperate. Some kinds of tomato (such as beefsteak tomatoes) remain mottled or pink when they’re fully ripe. Don’t wait for these varieties to look like solid red cherry tomatoes, or you will miss the harvest.
Storage is where home growers goes wrong. Refrigeration is bad for tomatoes; cold air causes damage to their flavor and texture. It stops the formation of scent compounds and breaks down cell walls. Instead, the guide recommend storing tomatoes at around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit (room temperature), which is similar to how they grew, and also helps develop sugar.
To further prolong any excess tomatoes, hang them on vine, or place them in a cool cellar. Keeping the skin intact help slow spoilage. Don’t store tomatoes stacked because they are very prone to bruising. If one tomato gets squished at the bottom of a heap, the ethylene gas it releases damage the tomatoes above.
To ripen tomatoes, you should of known that ethylene gas is both a friend and an enemy. A banana in a brown paper bag with unripe tomatoes will hasten ripening, because the banana emits ethylene, which the tomatoes pick up and use to turn redder more quickly. If you wish to store ripe tomatoes for longer periods, however, don’t put them in a bag with other fruits.
This chart show that once the tomato is truly soft and red, its shelf life decreases. It won’t be good for several days or even a week. Pick tomatoes that are firm with strong skin, but don’t choose ones that are to firm because they have less sugar.
Knowing when to pick a tomato is only part of it; you also need to know how to pick one. Gently twisting the fruit off is best (not yanking). Yanking risks damaging the vine and creating an exposed area where rot might set in. It’s also nice to use clean shears, as they’re less likely to carry any bacteria.
Other pitfalls include refrigerating your tomatoes, which destroys their flavor and texture. Don’t pick wet fruit! The list of no-no’s explains why. Pick your tomatoes when the plant itself is dry. This tip helps you have fresh tomatoes in the kitchen longer into the fall.
Tomato growing is a waiting game. It’s a test of patience and observation. There are things you need to know that cannot be rushed. But there are clues to help you on the way.
These six stages provides a plan for action. Your eyes and hands is responsible for the rest. Firmness, time of day, and color matter. Once you cut into a tomato picked at just the right moment, you’ll understand what the wait was about.
Paying close attention to little things brings out the good flavor. It is the difference between a meal and a memory.