55 degrees is just the minimum temperature; you can ripen them on the counter just fine, and they'll be ready in a day or three. That's the way most of us do it.

--Alison

I got the impression that forensicmom was interested in what to do when they are already ripe. I think this is important. I just keep them somewhere in the kitchen away from the sun, and blanch and freeze if they are really ripe and can't go much longer. I have been known to keep one in the fridge if I really wanted to eat it fresh and thought it wouldn't last otherwise.
Karen

Once they have ripened you can put them in the refrigerator and they will store longer and the flavor will be fine. If you pick them before they are ripe they should be stored above 55 degrees to develop the best flavor.

I have ripe Sungolds and Black Cherries and others in the refrigerator and they taste just as good as the day they went in.

Zeuspaul

This is from the About.com: Home Cooking page on Tomato Storage and Selection Information:

"Refrigeration is the enemy of the tomato as it nullifies flavor and turns the flesh mealy. The culprit is a compound called Z-3 hexenel, which accounts for the tomato's scent and taste. The development process which turns tomato's linolenic acid to the Z-3 that makes our mouth and nose sing is hindered by cold. If you must refrigerate a tomato, take it out about an hour before using it to let it return to room temperature to revive any lurking Z-3."

I think it probably depends on the tomato and your sense of taste. In any event, I fully believe a home grown tomato that is refrigerated will taste much better than a store bought one that you don't refigerate. (It was probably refrigerated for shipping, after being picked green and before it was gassed to ripen it.) You may want to try picking two that are ripe and refrigerate one and not the other, and do a taste test after a day or two.

I feel an experiment coming on when I get more ripe tomatoes. . . .

Betsy

The development process which turns tomato's linolenic acid to the Z-3 that makes our mouth and nose sing is hindered by cold.

We are talking about ripe tomatoes so the flavor should already be developed. Are there a few components of the many chemicals that are responsible for tomato flavor that are reversed by cold? perhaps.

Betsy, it's difficult to set up a test. If the two tomatoes are fully ripe to your satisfaction and you place one in the refrigerator and then compare a few days later you will be comparing a refrigerated ripe tomato to an over ripe tomato.

The *about* author says refrigeration turns a tomato mealy but fails to mention that not refrigerating a fully ripe tomato will result in a mushy over ripe tomato. One has to compare a ripe tomato that has been in the refrigerator for a week to a ripe tomato that has been allowed to continue to ripen for a week after it has fully ripened. You will find that the refrigerated tomato is edible and the non refrigerated tomato is most likely not edible and may well be mushy and smelly.

Cold nullifies tomato flavor?? I don't think so. However cold in the ripening process will result in a low flavor tomato. How many of us freeze tomatoes before making sauce? Is the tomato sauce made from frozen tomatoes lacking in flavor?

I freeze some of my sauce made from vine ripened tomatoes and it is delicious, at least as good as the sauce I can which has never seen the cold.

Zeuspaul

Thank you zeuspaul. I give tomatoes away on the weekend and many are rotting before I get them to town. I have always heard not to refrigerate tomatoes, but what you said makes sense.

I am with Bets. Refrigerated ripe tomatoes don't taste nearly as good as ripe non refrigerated ones. Of course they will stay ripe longer in the fridge but the cold ruins the taste IMO. I read it takes about 20 min. in a fridge to ruin the taste. So yes I do believe you sacrifice some taste for longer storage...

What about freezer tomatoes meant for making sauce? I often freeze ripen tomatoes when I don't have enough to make a large batch of sauce.

I did the taste/keeping test last year on my toms and I vote for the shelf. We pick as ready, roast and freeze as often as needed and share when we have too many.

Cooked toms don't have the same issue as fresh ones - they have been "processed" so freezing them will preserve that flavor and freshness.

I have one last package of roasted heirloom tomato sauce from last year and I expect it will taste as good as the one we had a few weeks ago. I use it for pasta or tomato soup.

I agree it is best to not put tomatoes in the refrigerator.

However that does not answer the OP's question.

I also agree with the OP that it is best to store ripe tomatoes at 55 degrees.

But the question is how to store tomatoes that are already ripe when storing at 55 degrees is not an option. The best answer to that is to store them at 56 degrees:).

What is better? a tomato that is a day over ripe or a tomato that has been in the refrigerator for a day? Most likely the over ripe tomato.

What is better? a tomato that is one week over ripe or a tomato that has been in the refrigerator for a week? Most likely the refrigerated tomato.

The tomatoes that I find most challenging are the Sungolds, Black Cherries and tomatoes with surface cracks. These tomatoes don't last very long on the counter. I put tomatoes in the refrigerator that will otherwise go bad and surprisingly the flavor is much better than the cardboard you get at the supermarket.

Zeuspaul