Scientists trick to make your tomatoes tastier

Keiththibodeaux · September 18, 2015

OK, before you read this article, we all know this will not make a store bought tomato taste like a fresh garden grown one or a refrigerated tomato taste like one fresh off the bush, but sometimes you have to deal with what is available. So, with that in mind, this might be the best you can do.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...atoes-tastier/

If you've ever compared a farm-fresh heirloom tomato to the average fruit from a grocery store, you know the latter is a pale substitution. But by slightly tweaking the way tomatoes are prepared for sale, scientists say, they can make them just a bit yummier. The key is giving tomatoes a nice hot soak before they head to the store.

Tomatoes in the grocery store aren't generally freshly picked. They've been shipped from another location, spending days or weeks in storage to make it to store shelves. And that means that they weren't actually red and ripe when they were picked -- if they had been, they'd be a rotten mess by the time they arrived.

So tomatoes are picked green and ripened at the opportune moment using a gas called ethylene. It's totally natural -- it's the gas that tomatoes, apples, bananas, and other fruits release when they ripen, and its presence signals other fruits nearby to get going -- but what comes after is no good for your taste buds: Once the fruits have been perfectly ripened, they're stored in the cold to keep them from going bad.

It turns out that the lower temperatures really degrade fruit flavor. At the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society this week, researchers presented a simple solution: Just give the fruit a nice, hot bath beforehand.

In the experiment, which was led by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the University of Florida, Florida-grown tomatoes were dipped in hot water (about 125 degrees Fahrenheit) for five minutes before getting the same chilly treatment as the other tomatoes.

The hot bath seemed to mitigate some of the tasteless effects of the chilling. Important flavor compounds -- the chemicals that give tomatoes their taste -- were more abundant in the experimental tomatoes, even after they'd been chilled and stored.

The researchers are working on figuring out whether other techniques -- one that caught the tomatoes earlier in the production process, or allowed them to ripen on the vine for a bit longer without risking decay en route to their final destination -- might make tomatoes taste even better.

By Rachel Feltman

Worth1 · September 18, 2015

They can keep their scalded tomatoes.

At 124F in water for 4.2 minutes will cause 3rd degree burns on a persons skin.

It all seems like a waste of time to me because it isn't the process of the tomato shipping it is the tomato breed that is the main factor in the tasteless things.
In other words, you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Worth

Fusion_power · September 18, 2015

/me points at Worth's ear and says "See! Proof!".

Worth1 · September 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

/me points at Worth's ear and says "See! Proof!".

Funny.

They did have a guy at work in the kitchen stick his finger in the pot to see if it was hot enough.
The idiot got a 2nd degree burn from it.

Worth

Labradors2 · September 18, 2015

It sounds as if they are pasteurizing store-bought tomatoes! Another reason not to buy them!

I thought I'd figured it out last winter. I bought two packs of Campari tomatoes and laid them all out on a big plate, allowing them to RIPEN. Eating only the ones that yielded to pressure, I found that they tasted pretty good! The trick is to buy more packets before running out of the last batch, so that they will have enough time to ripen properly.

Linda

Fred Hempel · September 18, 2015

Interesting note, Linda.

Travis seems to have the opinion that many yucky commercial tomatoes can ripen more fully (and taste pretty good) but we rarely let them.

I have also been noticing the same thing about "commercial" varieties lately. The relationships between ripeness, ripening time and flavor seems to be different for every tomato!

And, I think many of us, based on our own rules of thumb about ripening, are eating many of the tomatoes we try at a stage that is not their peak-flavor stage. Which is another reason people can have such widely different perceptions of the same tomato variety.

Labradors2 · September 18, 2015

Travis may well be the one who mentioned the importance of allowing store-bought tomatoes to ripen properly. It was something that I read here on Tomatoville, for which I am most grateful

.

I agree that it is really important to get the exact ripeness for our taste buds. Look at Green Zebra for example. Some like it yellow and others wait for it to go gold.

I didn't like Sungold F1 when a friend gave me some to try. It wasn't until I grew my own plant and had a perfectly ripe (over ripe?) one fall off the vine into my hand that I realized how scrumptious they are!

Linda

Worth1 · September 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

Interesting note, Linda.

Travis seems to have the opinion that many yucky commercial tomatoes can ripen more fully (and taste pretty good) but we rarely let them.

I have also been noticing the same thing about "commercial" varieties lately. The relationships between ripeness, ripening time and flavor seems to be different for every tomato!

And, I think many of us, based on our own rules of thumb about ripening, are eating many of the tomatoes we try at a stage that is not their peak-flavor stage. Which is another reason people can have such widely different perceptions of the same tomato variety.

Fred when I buy a tomato in the store I buy it for days later.
Not that they are great but it helps a bunch to let them ripen more.

Worth

JLJ_ · September 18, 2015

Another "me, too" for, when driven to buying grocery tomatoes, letting them ripen on the cabinet until they seem fully ripe (or as fully ripe as they're going to get).

It helps more with some than with others. I have the best luck if I'm able to to find tomatoes that have at least a faint whiff of tomato scent in the store.

Same thing with cantaloupe, only more so -- I never buy cantaloupe if I can't catch at least a hint of cantaloupe scent -- or if they've been put in the chilled section of the produce dept.

Fred Hempel · September 18, 2015

For my taste buds

"Gold" Green Zebra = putrid

maf · September 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

Interesting note, Linda.

Travis seems to have the opinion that many yucky commercial tomatoes can ripen more fully (and taste pretty good) but we rarely let them.

Another advocate of this method here. I always try and buy supermarket tomatoes at least a week before I need to eat them. I find many of the 3-4 ounce "on-the-vine" types hit peak flavor between 1 and 2 weeks after purchase and will usually keep for 3 weeks on the vine at room temperature of 18-20°C (65-70°F).

Gardeneer · September 18, 2015

Not in defense of grocery store tomatoes here BUT:
I don't think that 124F will cause any harm. It is in the upper range of lukewarm .

It is about the science behind the temperatures. As cold temps can affect tomato's taste negatively, it is logical to thinks that opposite is true.
Maybe (just maybe) that is why a tomato hanging on the vine while ripe, in a hot summer day might taste better than the one sitting on the counter in your air-conditioned kitchen.
I am a sucker for science.

Worth1 · September 18, 2015

I beg to differ lukewarm is only around 98 to 100F.
Not saying to hurt yourself but put your hand in water at 124F and see how long you can keep it there it wont be long.
It will give you 2nd degree burns in 2 minutes and 3rd degree burns in 4 minutes.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...QpWIJsqj8cBLRw

Gardeneer · September 18, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I beg to differ lukewarm is only around 98 to 100F.
Not saying to hurt yourself but put your hand in water at 124F and see how long you can keep it there it wont be long.
It will give you 2nd degree burns in 2 minutes and 3rd degree burns in 4 minutes.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...QpWIJsqj8cBLRw

I did not time.
But here is my hand in water much warmer tnan 120F
I think that people might have different sensitivity

Ed of Somis · September 18, 2015

I think you all have missed the obvious! In order to make store-bought tomatoes taste better...you simply have to drink lots of beer before consuming the tomatoes.

September 18, 2015	#1
Keiththibodeaux Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Louisiana Posts: 587	Scientists trick to make your tomatoes tastier OK, before you read this article, we all know this will not make a store bought tomato taste like a fresh garden grown one or a refrigerated tomato taste like one fresh off the bush, but sometimes you have to deal with what is available. So, with that in mind, this might be the best you can do. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...atoes-tastier/ If you've ever compared a farm-fresh heirloom tomato to the average fruit from a grocery store, you know the latter is a pale substitution. But by slightly tweaking the way tomatoes are prepared for sale, scientists say, they can make them just a bit yummier. The key is giving tomatoes a nice hot soak before they head to the store. Tomatoes in the grocery store aren't generally freshly picked. They've been shipped from another location, spending days or weeks in storage to make it to store shelves. And that means that they weren't actually red and ripe when they were picked -- if they had been, they'd be a rotten mess by the time they arrived. So tomatoes are picked green and ripened at the opportune moment using a gas called ethylene. It's totally natural -- it's the gas that tomatoes, apples, bananas, and other fruits release when they ripen, and its presence signals other fruits nearby to get going -- but what comes after is no good for your taste buds: Once the fruits have been perfectly ripened, they're stored in the cold to keep them from going bad. It turns out that the lower temperatures really degrade fruit flavor. At the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society this week, researchers presented a simple solution: Just give the fruit a nice, hot bath beforehand. In the experiment, which was led by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the University of Florida, Florida-grown tomatoes were dipped in hot water (about 125 degrees Fahrenheit) for five minutes before getting the same chilly treatment as the other tomatoes. The hot bath seemed to mitigate some of the tasteless effects of the chilling. Important flavor compounds -- the chemicals that give tomatoes their taste -- were more abundant in the experimental tomatoes, even after they'd been chilled and stored. The researchers are working on figuring out whether other techniques -- one that caught the tomatoes earlier in the production process, or allowed them to ripen on the vine for a bit longer without risking decay en route to their final destination -- might make tomatoes taste even better. By Rachel Feltman

September 18, 2015	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	They can keep their scalded tomatoes. At 124F in water for 4.2 minutes will cause 3rd degree burns on a persons skin. It all seems like a waste of time to me because it isn't the process of the tomato shipping it is the tomato breed that is the main factor in the tasteless things. In other words, you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Worth

September 18, 2015	#3
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	/me points at Worth's ear and says "See! Proof!".

September 18, 2015	#5
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,890	It sounds as if they are pasteurizing store-bought tomatoes! Another reason not to buy them! I thought I'd figured it out last winter. I bought two packs of Campari tomatoes and laid them all out on a big plate, allowing them to RIPEN. Eating only the ones that yielded to pressure, I found that they tasted pretty good! The trick is to buy more packets before running out of the last batch, so that they will have enough time to ripen properly. Linda

September 18, 2015	#6
Fred Hempel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Sunol, CA Posts: 2,723	Interesting note, Linda. Travis seems to have the opinion that many yucky commercial tomatoes can ripen more fully (and taste pretty good) but we rarely let them. I have also been noticing the same thing about "commercial" varieties lately. The relationships between ripeness, ripening time and flavor seems to be different for every tomato! And, I think many of us, based on our own rules of thumb about ripening, are eating many of the tomatoes we try at a stage that is not their peak-flavor stage. Which is another reason people can have such widely different perceptions of the same tomato variety.

September 18, 2015	#9
JLJ_ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 759	Another "me, too" for, when driven to buying grocery tomatoes, letting them ripen on the cabinet until they seem fully ripe (or as fully ripe as they're going to get). It helps more with some than with others. I have the best luck if I'm able to to find tomatoes that have at least a faint whiff of tomato scent in the store. Same thing with cantaloupe, only more so -- I never buy cantaloupe if I can't catch at least a hint of cantaloupe scent -- or if they've been put in the chilled section of the produce dept.

September 18, 2015	#12
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,916	Not in defense of grocery store tomatoes here BUT: I don't think that 124F will cause any harm. It is in the upper range of lukewarm . It is about the science behind the temperatures. As cold temps can affect tomato's taste negatively, it is logical to thinks that opposite is true. Maybe (just maybe) that is why a tomato hanging on the vine while ripe, in a hot summer day might taste better than the one sitting on the counter in your air-conditioned kitchen. I am a sucker for science.

September 18, 2015	#15
Ed of Somis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Somis, Ca Posts: 649	I think you all have missed the obvious! In order to make store-bought tomatoes taste better...you simply have to drink lots of beer before consuming the tomatoes.