Having grown and harvested tomatoes, you want to fully enjoy the result of your labors. However, storing green tomatoes requires a clear understanding of why you are doing it. After all, preserving unripe fruits for a long time, without losing taste, is not easy, since man has not yet fully mastered the mysteries of nature.
When figuring out how to store green tomatoes so that they turn red quickly, and how to delay this process, you will have to delve into complex biochemical reactions.
Purposes of tomato storage
Having collected the crop and delivered it to the place of processing and storage, you need to decide on the following points:
- Should the crop be stored for quick reddening and further processing of tomatoes for the winter, when they can be pickled, pickled, canned, processed into tomato paste, and simply consumed fresh, in salads.
- Either store the tomatoes until the New Year or almost until, but the longer the better.
How to preserve the fruits will depend on which path you choose, so that it is done correctly, competently and with the least loss for the quantity and quality of the product.
Do you know that…
Tomatoes can ripen in a week, or you can stretch out this process for a couple of months. Everything depends on the created conditions.
Types of varieties for storage
Not all tomatoes can be stored. But don't be upset about this. There are many varieties that will last until maturity.
Crops with long shelf life:
- almost all varieties of yellow tomatoes;
- Giraffe;
- Vasilisa;
- Zhanna;
- Gift of autumn;
- Orange ball;
- Snowfall F1;
- Long keeper;
- New Year;
- Khrustik F1;
- Lounger F1;
- Rio;
- all winter tomatoes.
This is not a complete list of varieties and hybrids that can ripen green.
But varieties such as Oak or Japanese can be stored for no more than two months.
Harvesting and sorting
Whatever your goal, the event will be successful if:
- tomatoes are collected in a timely manner, without waiting for the time when frost covers the fruits or they undergo frost treatment;
- vegetables collected are of good quality, not blackened by late blight fungus, not damaged (nailed, crushed);
- A dry day was chosen for collection rather than a wet morning.
Since when harvesting there is no time to examine the degree of ripeness and beauty of the circles, when storing at home you need to pay attention to these parameters.
Sorting by degree of maturity must be carried out, since the biochemical processes that have begun cannot be reversed.
So we have:
- green tomatoes;
- beginning to turn brown;
- brown;
- red.
They need to be sorted and the sooner the better. Use reddened ripe ones for immediate processing; there are many methods for this:
- canning;
- pickling;
- drying;
- freezing;
- processing for tomato products.
Brown tomatoes will be first in line for processing when they turn red.
We recommend reading: Ripe tomatoes: how to keep them fresh and process them for the winter.
Why is it necessary to remove unripe tomatoes?
Since premature harvesting of tomatoes is a necessary measure, it is necessary to understand why summer residents resort to it. There are several reasons for picking tomatoes early.
Reasons why tomatoes do not have time to ripen
The reason may be an incorrect selection of varieties. Quite often, summer residents, especially beginners, choose late-ripening varieties for growing in open ground. In this case, ripening occurs in the fall, when the cold weather begins. Until this time, the bush grows slowly, slowly forms ovaries and becomes overgrown with greenery. And only after all these stages the slow ripening of the fruit begins.
Such tomatoes begin to ripen only in the fall, when the air temperature no longer allows them to ripen on the bushes. If they are not harvested green, there is a risk of losing the harvest completely. Remember: late varieties are optimal for growing in greenhouses.
Attention ! To ensure that vegetables ripen before frosts in open ground, choose early and mid-ripening varieties.
Another reason is improper care of bushes. If you want to get the harvest in a timely manner, it is necessary to pinch and shape the plant during the intensive growth of the bush. Regular feeding is needed, but during the ripening of the fruits, do not overdo it. Choose fertilizers that are high in potassium.
Late planting may also be the cause. As a result, the harvest will have to be harvested prematurely so that the cold does not destroy the standing crop.
Picking the fruits correctly
Which tomato can already be picked is determined by color. Choose tomatoes from light green to light orange. The darker the green, the longer it will take to ripen. The size of the fruit must correspond to the variety.
The fruits are cut with scissors along with the stalk so as not to damage the skin. This way you will extend the shelf life of tomatoes and protect them from premature rotting. It is important to harvest tomatoes in dry, but not hot weather.
Varietal features
An important point for conservation is the choice of variety. It is a mistaken belief that any variety can be stored for a long time. Before you set the goal of enjoying your own tomatoes for the New Year holidays, understand the variety of varieties, otherwise you will fail.
An event is doomed to failure if:
- when choosing a variety, you did not pay attention to such an indicator as “keeping quality”;
- the beds have become re-sorted;
- During harvest, tomatoes of different varieties were mixed.
If you don’t know what type of fruit you want to preserve, it’s better not to do this, because a tomato that ripens for a long time is tasteless. Even if it is dense and seemingly beautiful, it has an unpleasant smell, taste and a disgusting aftertaste.
Green tomatoes contain solanine, a poisonous alkaloid that gives them an unpleasant taste. Its concentration decreases after fruit ripening or during culinary processing (pickling, fermentation, salting)
It’s a completely different matter when the tomatoes, set to ripen, ripen quickly, and then are processed into amazing preparations that will decorate any holiday table and prove to everyone that you are an excellent housewife. [flat_ab id=”24"]
Do you know that…
A whole army of breeders is working to create tomatoes that last longer and become tastier, sweeter, and more aromatic over time.
Which varieties to choose for long-term storage
In specialty stores you can easily find seeds of almost any variety of tomatoes. For open ground, choose mid- and early-ripening varieties, and for greenhouse planting - with late ripening.
Which varieties and hybrids last the longest?
Yellow tomatoes New Year's, Vasilisa, Zhanna, Snowfall, Gift of Autumn, Orange Ball, Lounger F1, Rio are perfectly stored.
If you prefer red fruits, then choose Ekaterina, Zazimok, Empire, Stone Flower, Intuition.
For exotic lovers, black tomatoes are suitable: Black Crimea, Black Truffle, Black Pineapple, Dark Chocolate.
Reference . Regardless of the variety, tomatoes grown in open ground store better than those grown in a greenhouse.
How to store tomatoes so they ripen quickly
There is a direct relationship between temperature indicators and the rate of ripening of tomatoes:
- the warmer it is, the faster the ripening;
- the lower the temperature, the slower the ripening.
Naturally, no one will walk around boxes of tomatoes with a thermometer. Everything is done simply:
- Tomatoes are placed in boxes.
- They cover themselves with a towel, rags, even newspapers, as long as bright sunlight does not fall on them.
- The boxes are installed in a warm (with a temperature of about 20 ° C) room in the house.
Where can I find such a place? The kitchen is where products belong.
Do you know that…
Fruits sent for ripening must be of normal size for their variety. Small and underdeveloped ones will not be able to keep up.
How to speed up the reddening of fruits on bushes
There are several ways to speed up ripening. If you want the tomatoes on the bushes to turn red faster, then use the following methods:
- Removal of the first ripe fruit. As soon as you see the first reddened tomato on the bush, try to pick it as soon as possible. This stimulates the ripening of all other fruits.
- Trimming. The leaves should be cut back to the first cluster of inflorescences. This will provide oxygen access to the ovaries and speed up fruit filling.
- Stepsonning. This procedure must be carried out in a timely manner. It helps the plant not to waste energy on stem growth, but to direct all its energy to ripening the fruits.
- Stop watering. About a month before harvesting, you should stop irrigating tomatoes. This is especially necessary in dry weather. When there is a lack of moisture, the bushes stop growing and spend all their energy on bearing fruit.
How to keep tomatoes longer
If you still decide to save green tomatoes longer, then:
- keep them in a cool place (temperature around 13 °C);
- constantly sort out and put aside those that are beginning to turn brown;
- periodically select and discard those that have begun to turn black.
Where to store these tomatoes:
- a small amount - in the refrigerator;
- the big one is in the basement.
Do you know that…
Whatever storage method you choose, if the tomatoes turn black, there is no point in storing them any longer. Moreover, such tomatoes should not be processed.
How long does it take for green tomatoes to ripen?
The ripening process largely depends on the degree of maturity. Naturally, brown tomatoes at home will ripen faster, then white ones will begin to ripen and, last of all, green ones. Also, the ripening time largely depends on the chosen storage method and the conditions where they are located. Ripening time can vary from 7 to 40 days. For example:
- If you choose boxes for storage and send the tomatoes for ripening correctly, the process will take 2 weeks.
- In glass containers, ripening will take 10 days.
- If preference is given to paper bags, then green fruits will be ready for consumption from 2 weeks to 1 month, much depends on the temperature.
- The window sills will turn red in just a week.
- The ripening time for green tomatoes on the shelf can vary from 7 to 10 days.
Thus, if you choose the right ripening method for fruits of different degrees of maturity, you can very quickly achieve the desired result and start eating fresh red tomatoes after frost.
Myths and reality
If you wander around the Internet, you can read a lot, but each line is worth thinking about:
- “To ripen, tomatoes must be covered with a red cloth.” This is probably outright quackery, although if you want to have your own opinion on this matter, then try it. It is advisable, of course, to keep the experiment clean and cover one box with a red rag and the other, for example, with a green one. And please share your research results in the comments.
- Mustard powder also does not help ripening. If the tomatoes have turned black, it won’t help either.
But it’s true that when you add a ripe apple or one that’s starting to rot to green tomatoes, unripe tomatoes ripen faster.
To speed up ripening, you can also add overripe bananas or pears to green tomatoes.
Do you know what ripe fruits smell like? That's right - delicious. They smell like ethylene with aromatic substances. The riper the fruit, the more gas it releases and contributes to the redness of its neighbors.
Do you know that…
At the beginning of the last century (1936), a work was published at the Peterhof Biological Institute on the effect of ethanol (medicinal alcohol) on stored tomatoes. So, when 0.2 ml of vodka was introduced into the pulp of a tomato, first the injection site began to turn red, and then the fruit itself, and evenly. This did not affect the taste.
Ripening of “drunk” tomatoes takes place 10-12 days earlier than “sober” ones. Another interesting fact is that “drunken” tomatoes produce seeds with excellent seedlings.
Tips and tricks
It is not recommended to eat unripe tomatoes, as they contain specific enzymes. These substances, once in the human body, can cause poisoning. However, there are many canning recipes that use green tomatoes. In pickles, toxic compounds are neutralized.
If you want to have ripe tomatoes all year round, you can start growing tomatoes at home. Hybrids that do not require intensive care are suitable for this. They can be grown in small pots.
Tomato processing
If it is not possible to keep tomatoes fresh for a long time at home, they are processed. Recipes for all kinds of preparations can be found for both red and brown and green tomatoes.
Preparing tomatoes for the winter using a proven recipe is not difficult. Or you can experiment and dry it, roll it with mustard, and process it into sauces and salads.
Try preparing a very tasty salad for the winter using the recipe from this video:
Many factors influence how to store tomatoes at home. However, you will be able to extend the shelf life of this wonderful vegetable and enjoy eating it in fresh and processed form.
Store correctly and be healthy!
Where to put green tomatoes for ripening
Today, there are several time-tested methods for storing green tomatoes for ripening. Before giving preference to any particular method, it is necessary to take into account that the temperature in the room must not be lower than +15°C, the permissible humidity level is 80%. It is important to understand that the higher the temperature, the faster the fruits will ripen and be ready for consumption.
Attention! If you expose green tomatoes to the sun, their appearance will deteriorate.
