The Only Way You Should Store Tomatoes, According to a Former Farmer

I learned so much during my time as a farming apprentice that I use in my personal and professional lives to this day. Some lessons lean philosophical and inform my approach to feeding my family and my thoughts on our food system more generally, while others have a more practical, concrete impact in my kitchen.

For example, I can sniff out the moment produce starts to turn. This is especially true of tomatoes, and on hot summer days I swear my nose can detect the moment one crosses from ripe to overripe. Thankfully, farming also armed me with the knowledge to store my tomatoes so they last as long as possible.

The Best Way To Store Your Tomatoes

First and foremost, I always remove any remaining stems and store my tomatoes stem-side down. As beautiful as heirloom tomatoes look with their little leafy stem ends intact, piled up like a centerpiece in a bowl, I instead go for function over form by placing mine on my countertop in a single layer, bottom-side up. This method prevents moisture loss from the vulnerable stem end.

Should You Refrigerate Tomatoes?

Next up is the great refrigerator debate. While the bottoms-up storage method from my farming days is easy to replicate, unfortunately, I don’t have a dedicated space for maintaining the ideal temperature for tomatoes, which is frustratingly cooler than room temperature and warmer than a home fridge.

My best solution for this is to keep my tomatoes on the counter until they’re perfectly ripe, at which point, if I am not ready to eat them yet, I move them to the fridge.

In an ideal world, I wouldn’t refrigerate my tomatoes, but sometimes it’s the best option. I try to buy the right volume and ripeness of tomatoes based on when and how many I plan to eat, but life and tomato timelines are never perfect, so occasionally I need to move some tomatoes to the refrigerator.

Although fridge temperatures can impact tomato texture, I find that it’s not too dramatic an effect. Even after a couple of days stored at a cooler-than-ideal temperature, my farmer’s market tomatoes still taste delicious, especially if I let them come to room temperature before eating. 

Even if you don’t have the same sensitivity to produce that’s just about to slip from perfectly ripe to smelling vaguely of compost, you probably still want to keep your farmer’s market haul or garden harvest fresh for as long as possible. I guarantee that if you use these same tips we employed on the farm, your tomatoes will last longer and help you get the most out of tomato season.