How to store tomatoes: proven tips. Secrets of long-term storage of fresh tomatoes: how to store tomatoes until the New Year

Some people think that it is unrealistic to keep such a perishable vegetable in excellent condition. But it is enough to remember that even in winter you can buy ripe, strong tomatoes on the market to understand that this is possible.

The main thing is to approach the choice of vegetables correctly and find optimal location for their storage.

What tomatoes can be stored

Harvesting of tomatoes begins at the end of July and continues until frost. As soon as the first drop in temperature below zero is planned, all tomatoes, regardless of the degree of maturity, are removed. Because even slightly frostbitten tomatoes cannot be stored, as they begin to turn black in places where they come into contact with frosty air. But even if, at first glance, the tomatoes did not suffer, they will quickly deteriorate in storage.

The best stored are medium-late and late varieties tomatoes: De Barao, San Marzano, Kumato, Janina, Giraffe, Masterpiece-1.

How to prepare tomatoes for storage

• Tomatoes are sorted according to the degree of ripeness and the size of the fruit, because red and green tomatoes stored at different temperature. And large tomatoes ripen faster during maturation than small ones.
• Tomatoes should be strong, without dents, disease damage. Indeed, even a small speck of phytophthora on one fruit can destroy the rest of the tomatoes lying in the same box.
• It is necessary, if possible, to leave the stalks, because such tomatoes are stored much better.
• Tomatoes must be completely dry.
• Before putting tomatoes in boxes, they are sometimes gently wiped with alcohol or vodka and dried well. With the help of such a simple manipulation, microbes on the surface of tomatoes are destroyed, which also extends the storage time.
• Tomatoes are alternately dipped for a few seconds in a 0.4% aqueous solution of gelatin, and then dried. A thin gelatinous film will prevent the tomatoes from spoiling during the maturation.
• Tomatoes are well stored if they are treated with a 0.3% solution boric acid or 0.1% aqueous solution of potassium permanganate.

How to store tomatoes in a cellar or basement

The cellar for these vegetables should be clean, well ventilated.

Important to install optimal humidity indoors - 80-90%. If the storage is damp, then the tomatoes become moldy, and because of the dry air, they gradually begin to wrinkle, dry out and do not ripen.

The temperature in the cellar should not exceed 12°C.

How to store red tomatoes

• Tomatoes are placed with petioles up in shallow boxes in 2-3 rows. Each row is shifted with chaff or sawdust.
• So that the tomatoes do not touch each other, they are wrapped in soft paper.
• The boxes are covered with a thin film. But you need to make sure that access to tomatoes does not stop fresh air.

Store red tomatoes at a temperature of +1 ... + 2 °. Shelf life - 1-2 months.

How to store brown tomatoes

• Tomatoes are placed with petioles up in clean boxes of 8-12 kg.
• So that they do not touch each other, they are sprinkled with sawdust or wrapped in thin paper.
• Close the lid and store at +4…+6°.

How to store milk and green tomatoes

It is these tomatoes that are best stored - up to three months - because even in the plucked fruits, the ripening process continues.

Method 1

Green tomatoes are stored on racks in complete darkness. In November, the fruits are wrapped in soft wrapping paper and placed in boxes lined with sawdust, burlap or chaff. Boxes are cleaned in a room with a low temperature. Keep until January.

Method 2

Tomatoes are stacked in boxes, sprinkling each layer with chaff or sawdust. If there is no chaff or sawdust, then they can be replaced with onion peel.

Store at a temperature of -2 to +2°.

Ripening green tomatoes indoors

To green tomatoes quickly turned red, they are transferred to a warm room, where they ripen in three days.

If green tomatoes are kept in the dark these days, the redness will pass more slowly, but the color will turn out to be more uniform than those that will be in the light. But the latter will ripen faster.

Ripening green tomatoes in the garden

When there is no room for tomatoes to ripen indoors, they can be left to ripen in the garden.

• To do this, the supports are removed, and the bushes themselves are laid on the spread straw.
• From above, tomatoes are covered with a film, making a kind of greenhouse.
• Water carefully so as not to wet the fruit.
• Harvest as it ripens.

How to store tomatoes in the apartment

When trying to keep tomatoes in an apartment, you need to know that when room temperature red tomatoes can lie no more four days, pink - five days, brown - a week, and green - about ten days. And then they start to deteriorate.

But if the tomatoes are in the stage of milky ripeness, then they can be laid out in a cool pantry or under the bed. Without access to light, they will be stored for quite a long time.. True, they will be inferior in taste to tomatoes that are stored in the cellar.

Therefore, if there is no cellar, and the tomatoes need to be stored as long as possible, then they must be put in the refrigerator or taken out to the glazed balcony.

How to store tomatoes in the refrigerator

Tomatoes are stored in the vegetable compartment. Strong tomatoes without signs of spoilage are suitable for storage.

They are placed in a box, laid out in one row with tails up. Then lay with soft paper and lay the second row. For better storage each fruit can be wrapped in soft paper. Then the tomatoes will not touch each other. And if one fruit starts to deteriorate, this will not affect the quality of other tomatoes.

But you will have to forget about plastic bags, since tomatoes quickly disappear in them without access to fresh air.

How to store tomatoes on the balcony

If the balcony is glazed and the temperature on it is kept within + 5 ... + 12 °, then the tomatoes are placed in boxes covered with burlap or paper. Each layer of tomatoes is separated from each other using the same cushioning material. The boxes are stacked and covered with a cloth that does not let in light, but does not interfere with the flow of fresh air.

• To make green tomatoes ripen faster, you need to take a few pieces, put them in paper bag and put an apple in there. The ethylene gas emitted by this fruit will contribute to rapid maturation tomatoes. A ripe tomato has the same effect.
• Tomatoes in storage are periodically sorted out. Reddened tomatoes are transferred to a cooler place or used for food, and those that have begun to deteriorate are removed. If necessary, change sawdust and bedding.

Keeping tomatoes fresh until spring is the desire and goal of many summer residents. This is understandable: the fruits contain many useful minerals, potassium, iron and a whole complex of vitamins. Of course, nowadays you can buy beautiful fresh tomatoes in stores. all year round, but they won’t replace their own, from the garden, right? Grown by own hands are more juicy, fragrant and very, very tasty.

What varieties can lie for a long time, how to store them correctly and, most importantly, where?

It's no secret to anyone that optimal conditions storage makes it possible to save various vegetables, fruits and berries (which, by the way, include tomatoes) in fresh for quite a long time.

It's time to talk about the nuances of long-term storage of tomatoes. Turns out they can stay fresh for quite some time without special efforts. The main thing is to know some secrets.

Keeping tomatoes for a week or two is easy. Simply put them in a paper bag and put them in the refrigerator - on the shelf for storing vegetables. But in order to keep safe and sound until the New Year and, moreover, until spring, you need not only your desire and suitable storage conditions, but also special varieties.

What varieties of tomatoes are suitable for long-term storage

Please note important nuance: regardless of the variety, tomatoes grown in open field are stored better than greenhouse ones.

For long-term storage, medium-late and late varieties of tomatoes are suitable, for example, these:

"De Barao" is a mid-season indeterminate (with unlimited growth) variety, it can reach a height of 2.5 meters, and sometimes more. Oval fruits (depending on the variety variety) are red, pink, yellow, striped and even black.

"San Marzano" - indeterminate (with unlimited growth) highly productive variety; fruits are dense, fleshy, bright red, elongated plum-shaped, reach a mass of up to 150 grams.

And the fruits of the varieties "Rio Grand", "Kumato", "Volgogradsky 5/95" and "Zhanina" are also perfectly preserved. In addition, breeders have simplified the task of long-term storage of tomatoes: new long-term (long-term) varieties have been bred. Among them:

"Giraffe" is a tall (indeterminate) variety, reaching a height of 1.2 meters. Round-shaped fruits can be stored until March.

"Long Keeper" - a determinant variety, the long-term fruits of which can weigh 250, and sometimes 400 grams; fresh can lie until February-March.

"Masterpiece-1" - late-ripening undersized variety, a bush whose height reaches 60 centimeters. Red flat fruits weighing about 80-200 grams can remain fresh almost until spring.

Of course, the fruits of long-term varieties are easier to save. But what to do if this year, when buying seeds, you chose not stale, but tasty, fragrant or, for example, beautiful varieties? I'm happy to plant an ox heart. I know they don't store well, but they are delicious! The answer is simple - try to save what has grown, what is available. Irregular tomatoes will not stay fresh and edible for long, but this period can be maximized if optimal storage conditions are observed. Of course, this requirement also applies to long-term varieties.

What conditions are needed for storing tomatoes

The storage room (place) should be dark and cool. Ideally, this is a refrigerator shelf designed for vegetables, a cellar or basement.

The storage temperature should be between +5 and +12°C with a relative humidity of 80%.

The fruits must be carefully placed with the stalk up in wooden or plastic containers(boxes, trays).

In the general mass, it is much easier to save unripe fruits, so their storage is practiced most often. They can be placed in the refrigerator or indoors. But, no matter which place you choose, you must take into account the conditions of the harvest and fulfill preliminary training tomatoes.

How to harvest and prepare tomatoes for storage

Fruits that are taken from the bushes before the night temperature drops below +8 ° C will be stored for a long time. If they suffered frosts on a bush, then they won’t lie for a long time, even if now you don’t see them obvious signs frost damage.

The correct time for harvesting is also important: it is better to pick the fruits from the bush during the day, when there will no longer be dew on them.

Careful sorting is necessary to extend the shelf life to the maximum. Select only whole, undamaged fruits that have reached milky ripeness (still green tomatoes that have already grown to the size inherent in the variety).

Before putting them in a storage container, you need to lightly wipe each copy with a cotton swab dipped in vodka (without additives) or alcohol. So you destroy all microorganisms on the surface of tomatoes.

How to store tomatoes in the refrigerator

Tomatoes should be stored in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment, laying them in layers with cuttings up and shifting each layer with paper. You can also use this option: wrap each tomato with paper - this way you keep the fruits even longer, because they will not come into contact with each other.

But storing tomatoes in a plastic bag, of course, is very convenient and practical, but wrong. Cellophane does not allow air to pass through, so inside the package is created high level humidity. Naturally, in such conditions, tomatoes begin to deteriorate quickly.

How to store tomatoes in a cellar or basement

When removing tomatoes for storage in a cellar or basement, they must also be laid in layers in wooden or plastic trays (boxes), shifting each layer with paper or pouring sawdust. Even better if each fruit has a paper wrapper. It is necessary to lay the crop in boxes or trays in three layers, no more - keep this in mind.

And, no matter where they are stored: in the cellar, basement or in the refrigerator, you should periodically, about once every 7 days, “look in” to them with a check. Reject and discard any damaged fruits without pity.

5-8 days before you intend to enjoy delicious fresh tomatoes, they need to be taken out to a bright, warm room for final ripening (ripening, reaching consumer ripeness).

How to store tomatoes in jars

Method 1

Tomatoes of milky ripeness, without signs of disease and damage to the skin, must be carefully washed, dried and put into a clean, sterilized jar, without pressing tightly against each other. After filling it to the top, you need to pour 3 tablespoons of alcohol inside, close it with a nylon lid and turn it well in your hands. Thanks to such simple manipulations, all tomatoes will be wetted with alcohol. After that, lower the wick inside and set it on fire with outer side. As soon as the alcohol starts to burn, quickly roll up the jar with a metal lid.

Method 2

Wash the tomatoes thoroughly and lay them outside to dry. In the meantime, sterilize the jars and pour 2 tablespoons of mustard powder on the bottom of each of them. Put the tomatoes in a jar, sprinkling a little mustard on each subsequent layer. After filling the jar, pour another spoonful of mustard powder into it, then roll it up with a metal lid. In total, for a 3-liter jar, you should need about 5-6 tablespoons of mustard powder.

Thanks to these methods of preservation, tomatoes will remain fresh for about 4-5 months. And remember: whatever method you use, the jars must be removed for storage in a cool, dark place, ideally a cellar or basement.

P.S. When laying tomatoes for long-term storage, I was tormented by the question for a long time - to wash them or not to wash them. Some argue that it is absolutely impossible to wash. Others, on the contrary, advise holding the fruits in hot water(+55...+60°C) about 3-5 minutes. So, supposedly, all phytophthora pathogens will be destroyed. I did not wash the tomatoes, but simply wiped each fruit with alcohol.

Many people believe that it is unrealistic to keep such a perishable vegetable as a tomato in excellent condition. But it is enough to remember that even in winter you can buy ripe, strong tomatoes on the market to understand that this is possible. The main thing is to choose the right vegetables and find the best place to store them.

WHAT TOMATOES CAN YOU STORE

Harvesting of tomatoes begins at the end of July and continues until frost. As soon as the first drop in temperature below zero is planned, all tomatoes, regardless of the degree of maturity, are removed. Because even slightly frostbitten tomatoes cannot be stored, as they begin to turn black in places where they come into contact with frosty air. But even if, at first glance, the tomatoes did not suffer, they will quickly deteriorate in storage.

Mid-late and late varieties of tomatoes are best stored: De Barao, San Marzano, Kumato, Zhanina, Giraffe, Masterpiece-1.

HOW TO PREPARE
TOMATOES FOR STORAGE

Tomatoes to be stored should be pre-selected and properly prepared:

Tomatoes are sorted according to the degree of ripeness and the size of the fruit, because red and green tomatoes are stored at different temperatures. And large tomatoes ripen faster during maturation than small ones.
. Tomatoes should be strong, without dents, disease damage. Indeed, even a small speck of phytophthora on one fruit can destroy the rest of the tomatoes lying in the same box.
. It is necessary, if possible, to leave the stalks, because such tomatoes are stored much better.
. Tomatoes must be completely dry.
. Before putting tomatoes in boxes, they are sometimes gently wiped with alcohol or vodka and dried well. With the help of such a simple manipulation, microbes on the surface of tomatoes are destroyed, which also extends the storage time.
. Tomatoes are alternately dipped for a few seconds in a 0.4% aqueous solution of gelatin, and then dried. A thin gelatinous film will prevent the tomatoes from spoiling during the maturation.
. Tomatoes are well stored if they are treated with a 0.3% solution of boric acid or a 0.1% aqueous solution of potassium permanganate.

HOW TO STORE TOMATOES
IN A CELLAR OR BASEMENT

The cellar for these vegetables should be clean, well ventilated. It is important to set the optimal humidity in the room - 80-90%. If the storage is damp, then the tomatoes become moldy, and because of the dry air, they gradually begin to wrinkle, dry out and do not ripen. The temperature in the cellar should not exceed 12°C.

How to store red tomatoes

Tomatoes are placed with petioles up in shallow boxes in 2-3 rows. Each row is shifted with chaff or sawdust.
. So that the tomatoes do not touch each other, they are wrapped in soft paper.
. The boxes are covered with a thin film. But you need to make sure that fresh air does not stop access to the tomatoes.

Store red tomatoes at a temperature of +1 ... + 2 ° С;. Shelf life - 1-2 months.

How to store brown tomatoes

Tomatoes are placed with petioles up in clean boxes of 8-12 kg.
. So that they do not touch each other, they are sprinkled with sawdust or wrapped in thin paper.
. Close the lid and store at +4…+6°C.

How to store milk and green tomatoes

It is these tomatoes that are best stored - up to three months - because even in the plucked fruits, the ripening process continues.

Method 1
Green tomatoes are stored on racks in complete darkness. In November, the fruits are wrapped in soft wrapping paper and placed in boxes lined with sawdust, burlap or chaff. Boxes are cleaned in a room with a low temperature. Store until January at a temperature of -2 to +2°C.

Method 2
Tomatoes are stacked in boxes, sprinkling each layer with chaff or sawdust. If there is no chaff or sawdust, then they can be replaced with onion peel. Store at temperatures from -2 to +2°C.

RIPENING GREEN TOMATOES
IN ROOM

In order for green tomatoes to quickly turn red, they are transferred to a warm room, where they ripen in three days. If green tomatoes are kept in the dark these days, the redness will pass more slowly, but the color will turn out to be more uniform than those that will be in the light. But the latter will ripen faster.

RIPENING GREEN TOMATOES
IN THE BED

When there is no room for tomatoes to ripen indoors, they can be left to ripen in the garden.
. To do this, the supports are removed, and the bushes themselves are laid on the spread straw.
. From above, tomatoes are covered with a film, making a kind of greenhouse.
. Water carefully so as not to wet the fruit.
. Harvest as it ripens.

HOW TO STORE TOMATOES IN THE APARTMENT

When trying to keep tomatoes in an apartment, you need to know that red tomatoes can lie at room temperature for no more than four days, pink ones for five days, brown ones for a week, and green ones for about ten days. And then they start to deteriorate.

But if the tomatoes are in the stage of milky ripeness, then they can be laid out in a cool pantry or under the bed. Without access to light, they will be stored for quite a long time. True, they will be inferior in taste to tomatoes that are stored in the cellar.

Therefore, if there is no cellar, and the tomatoes need to be stored as long as possible, then they need to be put in the refrigerator or taken out to the glazed balcony.

How to store tomatoes in the refrigerator

Tomatoes are stored in the vegetable compartment. Strong tomatoes without signs of spoilage are suitable for storage. They are placed in a box, laid out in one row with tails up. Then lay with soft paper and lay the second row. For better storage, each fruit can be wrapped in soft paper. Then the tomatoes will not touch each other. And if one fruit starts to deteriorate, this will not affect the quality of other tomatoes. But you will have to forget about plastic bags, since tomatoes quickly disappear in them without access to fresh air.

How to store tomatoes on the balcony

If the balcony is glazed and the temperature on it is kept within + 5 ... + 12 ° С, then the tomatoes are placed in boxes covered with burlap or paper. Each layer of tomatoes is separated from each other using the same cushioning material. The boxes are stacked and covered with a cloth that does not let in light, but does not interfere with the flow of fresh air.

Tasty and juicy tomatoes - a seasonal product? I assure you, they can be successfully stored at home for quite some time. I will tell you how to keep tomatoes fresh for the winter using simple and affordable methods.

General rules

Desired grade

For long-term stocks, it is best to choose certain varieties of tomatoes. For these purposes, medium-late and late varieties are ideal. For example, varieties:

• "New Year" perfectly preserved until the New Year;
• « Giraffe" and "Long Keeper" generally can be stored until spring.

When buying, ask how the vegetables were grown. Tomatoes grown outdoors can be stored much longer than greenhouse ones.

Storage conditions

The optimal temperature for long-term storage of tomatoes is +8 ... +10 ° C and humidity 80%.

The thing is that these vegetables are very sensitive to temperature. This is due to volatile substances, which provide a characteristic rich taste, and are very sensitive to a decrease or increase in temperature. If the heat balance is disturbed, the tomatoes become lethargic and lose their flavor.

Storage

Where to store tomatoes is a very important question. Cool dark places are best suited for this: basement, pantry, vegetable shelf in the refrigerator, space under the bed.

Preparing vegetables

Before sending vegetables for long-term storage, they must be carefully sorted. Select only whole fruits, preferably milky ripe - almost green tomatoes that have already grown to the size characteristic of the variety and are just starting to turn red.

To destroy all harmful microbes on the surface of the fruit, wipe each vegetable with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol or vodka.

How to save tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes can be stored in a variety of ways.

Method 1. In boxes

1. Take wooden or plastic boxes with a slatted bottom. Drawers must be clean and dry.
2. Cover them with paper.
3. Lay the vegetables with the stalks up, shifting each row with paper.
4. For best effect, you can wrap each fruit in paper.
5. Fill the box with sawdust or wood peat.

Method 2. Tomatoes for the New Year's table

1. Select milky tomatoes.
2. Wrap each vegetable in black paper.
3. Put in a box.
4. Cover with straw.
5. Store tomatoes in a dark, well-ventilated area at a temperature of +8 ... +10 ° C.
6. For ripening set right amount tomatoes in a bright and warm room for 5-10 days.

Method 3. Gradual ripening

1. Arrange the tomatoes, stalks up, in a cool, well-lit area.
2. Wait for the vegetables to ripen and be ready to eat.

Method 4. In banks

Image	Description
	Method 1 Pour the vegetables with a solution of water, salt and vinegar in a ratio of 8:1:1.
	Method 2 Pour over the tomatoes sunflower oil, which should cover the vegetables by 1 cm.
	Method 3 Place clean and dry fruits in a jar, sprinkling each layer with a spoonful of mustard powder. A three-liter jar should take at least 6 tablespoons of mustard.

Method 5. In a saucepan

1. Sort the fruits according to maturity and size.
2. Cut overripe vegetables into large pieces.
3. Lay vegetables in layers: a layer of chopped tomatoes, salt, a layer of whole fruits, table salt.
4. Repeat the operation until the container is completely filled.

Regardless of the method you choose, remember to check your inventory periodically. If a tomato begins to deteriorate, it must be removed immediately so that it does not infect the rest.

Method 6. In the refrigerator

Alas, the refrigerator is not the most the best place to store tomatoes. Here, the shelf life of tomatoes reaches a maximum of 7 days:

• To prevent the vegetables from spoiling, wrap each fruit in paper and keep it at a distance from each other.
• It is best to place the tomatoes on the bottom shelf or in the vegetable tray in a single layer so that the vegetables do not choke.
• The plastic bag retains moisture and can cause premature spoilage of tomatoes.

Storage of heat-treated tomatoes

Tomatoes are beautiful not only fresh. Dried, dried, canned and pickled tomatoes can be a great addition to any dish. Instructions for storing heat-treated tomatoes will help you understand all the intricacies.

Image	Instruction
	Sun-dried tomatoes: Store sun-dried tomatoes in a thick cotton bag. Place vegetables in a plastic container and pour over olive oil. Store the container in the refrigerator. Place sun dried tomatoes in the freezer. But be prepared for the fact that when defrosted, the vegetables will lose color.
	Dried Tomatoes: Dried tomatoes can be stored like dried fruits - in a cotton bag. Put the vegetables in the jar and close it wax paper. Fill the paper with wax or resin. You can store dried tomatoes in a dark and cool place. To do this, take any container, cover its bottom with paper and pour tomatoes. Place dried tomatoes in sterilized jars. Add any spices there (salt, pepper, dill, garlic) and fill with refined oil. Close with a nylon lid or polyethylene.
	Canned and Pickled Tomatoes: For many this will be news, but keep canned tomatoes can be no more than 12 months. Pickled tomatoes can lie in a barrel for no more than 8 months. Preservation is well stored at room temperature (pantry is suitable), and pickled tomatoes are stored at low temperature (in the basement, in the refrigerator).

Tomatoes can be stored in the freezer. This option is suitable for cooking various dishes. Except for salads, of course.

Summary

As you understand, you can store tomatoes correctly, knowing best way for certain fruits. In the video in this article you will find a lot more useful tips processing tomatoes.

If you know any other ways to store tomatoes, I'm waiting for them in the comments.

With the purchase of a summer house, I also learned the science of long-term storage not only of tomatoes, but also of other vegetables, for example, eggplant, which I already wrote about here. Tomatoes are a more capricious vegetable, but its shelf life can be extended for a long time.

When picking tomatoes, you do not need to remove the stalks. So they will last longer. Roll up canned food, prepare tomato juice. But on New Year's table I would like to have a salad fresh vegetables grown by hand. We will try to figure out how to properly store fruits and blanks so that our labors are not in vain.

How to store tomatoes?

Vegetables that we are not going to process in the near future need to be sorted out and decomposed according to the degree of maturity. The method of storage depends on the color of the plucked tomato.

Rules for storing red tomatoes

Ripe tomatoes are not subject to long-term storage, especially for fruits with thin skins. Only brown tomatoes can be saved longer. But still, we will describe a few main points.

The refrigerator is a great place to easily maintain the desired temperature and humidity. But it is for this red-sided vegetable that the conditions are not suitable.

At low temperatures, tomatoes lose the taste and smell for which we love them, and begin to produce harmful substances. Therefore, do not keep them in the refrigerator for more than 5 days.


It is better to put them in the freshness zone, in the absence of such, the top shelf will do, but the product must be placed in plastic bag. You can also use the vegetable box for a few days, lining each layer of tomatoes with paper.

It is even more difficult to save ripe tomatoes in conditions ordinary apartment. If you need to keep red tomatoes for more than 4 days, you can’t do without special preparation. You can use the following methods:

1. Put in a bowl, pour vegetable oil so that upper layer was less than an inch.
2. Pour the washed vegetables into a solution of 8 parts water, 1 part vinegar and 1 part salt.
3. Put the tomatoes with their stalks up in pre-sterilized and dried jars, the bottom of which is covered with mustard powder. Each layer also needs to be sprinkled with mustard. In no case do not tamp the vegetables!
4. Place vegetables in a vacuum container.

Attention! First of all, the tomatoes must be carefully sorted out, discarding overripe or damaged ones, washed and dried.

What to do with green tomatoes?

It is green, unripe fruits that are suitable for long-term storage. And at right approach It's easy to surprise your guests New Year's celebration delicious meals from fresh tomatoes, for example,.


The key to success is timing harvested crop. This should be done right before the first frost. If your tomatoes grow in a greenhouse, then it’s a little easier, but if you have to carefully monitor the weather forecasts on the ground.

Carefully inspect each vegetable. If the peel is intact, it does not have dark spots- the main sign of phytophthora - feel free to send it to the bins. Spoiled tomatoes must be thrown away immediately, otherwise they will infect all the vegetables in the neighborhood.

Sort the tomatoes by size, because small fruits take longer to ripen than large ones.

The storage container must be wiped with alcohol for disinfection and dried properly, the bottom should be covered with sawdust. Put the vegetables with the stalks up and lay with clean paper or shavings so that they do not touch each other. You can wrap each tomato with dark paper, then they will lie down even longer.

Important! It is necessary to provide vegetables with access to oxygen, so you should not choose boxes with solid walls.

We will choose a place for storage. It should be a well-ventilated dark room, with a temperature not exceeding 10 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 80-90%. If a country house far away, and there is no way to keep supplies in the basement, a closet on the loggia is quite suitable, where the tomatoes lie for several weeks, remaining green. Periodically sort through the tomatoes, pull out ripe or spoiled ones.


On the twentieth of December, put green vegetables to ripen in a dark place at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. In bright light, tomatoes will ripen much faster, in just three days, but reaching in the dark, they will be evenly colored and look more beautiful. As a child, I was lucky enough to spend the summer with my grandmother and I remember how she filled felt boots with green tomatoes, not forgetting to put one red to them.

Indeed, in order for the tomatoes to ripen faster, you should put a red vegetable to the green counterparts. Ethylene, which is released by the ready-to-eat tomato, speeds up the ripening of vegetables. By the way, a ripe apple is also suitable for these purposes.

How to store homemade tomato preparations?

Another storage method is to roll tomatoes into jars. There are thousands of recipes! There are plenty to choose from according to your taste. In my family are especially popular, and

Each type of blanks has its own storage features:

Pickled tomatoes keep well at room temperature. It is only important to remember that this is not wine, it will not get better in 10 years. Moreover, if you store canned food for more than a year, they may deteriorate. Write the production date on each jar and dispose of expired products in time.

Dried tomatoes can be stored in kitchen cabinet packaged in cotton bags. There is another way to store it - put it in a plastic food container with a lid, pour in olive oil and put it in the refrigerator on a shelf. When stored in freezer sun-dried tomatoes will lose color.


Tomato juice own production especially tasty and rich in very healthy succinic acid if it is squeezed from an overripe tomato. Freshly squeezed juice can be poured into glasses and stored for several months in the freezer. If the drink is sterilized, it will not lose its properties for three years, placed in a cool dark place.

Can you keep tomatoes fresh in a jar?

If you have been interested in the issue of tomato storage for a long time, then you have probably met unusual ways e.g. storage in jars without liquids, heat treatments, etc. The essence of these methods is that oxygen burns out in a hermetically sealed container with tomatoes. Like in this video:

There are recommendations with both alcohol and a candle. Allegedly, it preserves for several months. Theoretically, it seems to be plausible, but in practice, personally, I and all my friends have not yet succeeded. The experiments ended in failure - after a few weeks, the contents of the jars deteriorated.
Have you tried that?