HOW TO KEEP TOMATOES FRESH AS LONGER AS POSSIBLE

I would like to know how to properly store fresh tomatoes taken at the end of the growing season.

Lyubov Vorobieva, Ryazan region

For bookmarking for a long period of storage, healthy, thick-walled, multi-celled and fleshy fruits of mid-ripening and medium-late varieties of milky ripeness, which have a whitish-green color, and green, fully formed, are best suited. It is undesirable to send the fruits of the last collections for long-term storage (just before frost or during a sharp cold snap), since they are stored much worse than those collected in good weather.

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Tomatoes are removed, sorted by size and varieties, put in small boxes in 2-3 layers, lined with clean paper, dry moss, sawdust, and transferred to a dark room, where the temperature is maintained at 10 ... 12 ° C and air humidity 80-90%.

At higher air humidity, the fruits become moldy, and at lower humidity, they wither and wrinkle. The boxes are covered with plastic wrap.

Under these conditions, tomatoes can be stored for at least three months, depending on the variety. As necessary, the boxes are brought into a warm room (20 ... 25 ° C) so that the fruits ripen more quickly. At a lower temperature (18…19°С), pink tomatoes ripen in 6 days, brown ones in 10-12 days, and dairy ones in 15-18 days.

Keep in mind that tomatoes stored in the light ripen faster and acquire a more intense color, while those stored in the dark are slower, but their color is more uniform.

Ripe tomatoes, colored in a color characteristic of a certain variety, can be stored for no more than a month at a temperature of 2 ° C. And brown - at a temperature of 4 ... 6 ° C - up to 3 months.

Reference by topic: Storage of tomatoes from A to Z - varieties that are well stored and technology

Tomato storage. How to keep tomatoes fresh for the winter