Tomayto, tomahto 鈥� we鈥檝e long agreed to disagree on pronunciation, but the debate on where to store them is just heating up. Yesterday, aimed at reducing waste were published in the UK. The most eye-catching recommendation was that consumers should be advised to keep fruit and vegetables refrigerated below 5掳C. Potatoes, onions, pineapples and bananas are exceptions to the rule 鈥� but not tomatoes.
Food writer Jay Rayner called the advice 鈥渂izarre鈥� . 鈥淓very minute a tomato spends in a fridge it dies a little,鈥� one of his followers replied.
There is some truth in that. Last year, a study found that chilling reduces the activity of hundreds of tomato genes, some of which produce enzymes that contribute to flavour. These enzymes don鈥檛 recover when tomatoes return to room temperature, and taste tests found that people could tell the difference. Another study found that storage at 4掳C causes a .
Advertisement
If your tomatoes are fresh off the vine, it鈥檚 pretty clear that putting them in the fridge will be detrimental to their taste. But the trouble is, most of us buy our tomatoes from supermarkets. It鈥檚 likely that these were refrigerated during transport, meaning the damage has already been done.
Another consideration is the temperature of your kitchen. According to the , firm ripe tomatoes are best kept at 7-10掳C 鈥� warmer than the fridge, but cooler than most rooms. In summer, ripe tomatoes are likely to suffer from being left out for more than a day or two. If you have a cool cellar, that might be ideal for them, otherwise a warmer part of the fridge 鈥� like the top shelf of the door 鈥� could be the best spot.
This may seem like a lot of fuss over a few tomatoes. But the , the non-profit that produced the new guidelines, says it wants to tackle the 2 million tonnes of food wasted in UK homes each year because of spoilage. A third of this waste is down to how shoppers interpret food packaging labels, says WRAP.
Of course, food labelling has to be concise and simple, and can鈥檛 address all the variables we encounter in the real world. Refrigerating tomatoes isn鈥檛 always a good idea, but it isn鈥檛 necessarily a bad idea either. Prompting consumers to consider putting more produce in the fridge may help to reduce waste. Those of us who think chilled tomatoes aren鈥檛 worth eating can ignore it.
But if we really want to extend the shelf life of food, we should allow gene-edited products into our shops. Last year, researchers developed for two weeks after harvesting, using the CRISPR gene editing technique. The European Commission has been dragging its feet over whether crops altered by these methods should be exempt from the severe restrictions placed on genetically modified organisms. It鈥檚 no clearer what the rules will be in the UK after Brexit.
Wherever you keep your tomatoes, we can surely all agree on one thing: the new guidelines are absolutely right to recommend that consumers be advised not to keep bread in the fridge, as it will go stale more quickly. If you do that, stop it, you weirdo.
