Do you store tomatoes in the fridge?

Yes. I always store tomatoes in the fridge. There are two reasons for this in the south. If you leave a tomato on the counter in the summer, it will ruin quickly. Also we eat our tomatoes cold, either by themselves or in a salad. The only way a tomato is good warm is straight off the vine.
I noticed the article said they refrigerated the tomatoes then brought them back up to room temperature to serve. I found that unique.
But then in the south in the summer, we also put chocolates in the refrigerator. Otherwise, you get a sticky mess. Many older houses in the south don't have central heat and air. Though just with our evaporative cooler, we can keep the house about 20 cooler than outside. And our electric bill is less than half of most people around here.

Now we have talked about US/UK differences, but here is the thing. I can't say how the entire US uses various foods. We have the Northwest, the Midwest, New England, Southern, Southwest, Gulf coast, California, Cajun/Creole, Alaskan and Hawaiian cooking. Oh and Tex-Mex. Southern Florida is heavily influenced by the Cubans. I have probably forgotten a couple.
Gravy has many different variations here, depending on the region. Don't look for a chicken fried steak outside the south.
We have a national chain called Dairy Queen. They have two very different menus. One for Texas and one for everywhere else. They run both ads here. The everywhere else ad has a disclaimer (not available in Texas), the Texas ads mention Texas.

Oh and you heard me mention Tex-Mex. There are at least 6 different types of Mexican restaurants here in Texas as far as the food is concerned. That isn't counting the fast food places that serve Mexican food.

Now I could pretty much cook anything but I have cookbooks from all over. I have 36 of the 50 states. And one from Washington DC.
 
Cinisajoy said:
Yes. I always store tomatoes in the fridge. There are two reasons for this in the south. If you leave a tomato on the counter in the summer, it will ruin quickly. Also we eat our tomatoes cold, either by themselves or in a salad. The only way a tomato is good warm is straight off the vine.
I noticed the article said they refrigerated the tomatoes then brought them back up to room temperature to serve. I found that unique.
But then in the south in the summer, we also put chocolates in the refrigerator. Otherwise, you get a sticky mess. Many older houses in the south don't have central heat and air. Though just with our evaporative cooler, we can keep the house about 20 cooler than outside. And our electric bill is less than half of most people around here.

Now we have talked about US/UK differences, but here is the thing. I can't say how the entire US uses various foods. We have the Northwest, the Midwest, New England, Southern, Southwest, Gulf coast, California, Cajun/Creole, Alaskan and Hawaiian cooking. Oh and Tex-Mex. Southern Florida is heavily influenced by the Cubans. I have probably forgotten a couple.
Gravy has many different variations here, depending on the region. Don't look for a chicken fried steak outside the south.
We have a national chain called Dairy Queen. They have two very different menus. One for Texas and one for everywhere else. They run both ads here. The everywhere else ad has a disclaimer (not available in Texas), the Texas ads mention Texas.

Oh and you heard me mention Tex-Mex. There are at least 6 different types of Mexican restaurants here in Texas as far as the food is concerned. That isn't counting the fast food places that serve Mexican food.

Now I could pretty much cook anything but I have cookbooks from all over. I have 36 of the 50 states. And one from Washington DC.
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Yes - I think the regional variations in food are probably greater in the US than in the UK. But we are a small country. There are, of course, regional specialities, but by and large most areas cook them (Yorkshire Puddings, for example).

As for tomatoes, here it never gets hot enough for them to spoil! But I can imagine it must be difficult in extreme heat. Never mind the tomatoes, I would just wither and die! I can't stand any kind of heat (or extreme cold for that matter). But at least in the cold you can pile on more clothes.
 
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If you ever want to come visit, early November or late February is best.
 
  1. tomatoes - not until they are very ripe.
  2. bread - never
  3. onions - sometimes - depends on storage space
  4. avocados - only when ripe and I don't want them to spoil
  5. Basil - never
  6. Marmite - vegemite here and it is stored in the fridge simply for convenience next to the other sandwich material
  7. Cake - can't eat it, so never
  8. ketchup - not allowed in the house!
  9. Bananas - never, they don't last that long here to get ripe (come summer this may change but...)
 
Remembering that our early rainy season temperatures usually reach over 40 degC for a few months and our kitchen is not air conditioned:
  1. tomatoes - Fridge (salad drawer)
  2. bread - Fridge (if not, the ants will have it)
  3. onions - In the open
  4. avocados - Fridge (if we have any)
  5. Basil - Fridge (salad drawer with all the other grass that we eat)
  6. Marmite - We don't use it but any other jars/bottles/packets, once opened, are in the fridge
  7. Cake - Fridge (I don't eat cake myself)
  8. ketchup - Fridge (after opening)
  9. Bananas - In the open
What was the tenth item?

Oh, and there's always an adequate supply of beer in the fridge.
 
I've ALWAYS kept tomatoes in the fridge.

Ever since Day One, even before we all left the nest! I think that the fridge is the best place for them! If I left them sit out, they start to spoil quicker. The nice cool air in the fridge helps to prolong the life of veggies & fruits that would otherwise spoil & go bad much sooner. :wink:
 
Shermie said:
I've ALWAYS kept tomatoes in the fridge.

Ever since Day One, even before we all left the nest! I think that the fridge is the best place for them! If I left them sit out, they start to spoil quicker. The nice cool air in the fridge helps to prolong the life of veggies & fruits that would otherwise spoil & go bad much sooner. :wink:
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Same here, we've always kept toms in the fridge and so has my mum (where I got the idea from in the first place); and, to be honest, I've never thought them to be particularly tasteless - they're plenty tasty in the ham salad sandwiches I often rustle-up on a weekend. :hungry:
 
Shaun said:
Same here, we've always kept toms in the fridge and so has my mum (where I got the idea from in the first place); and, to be honest, I've never thought them to be particularly tasteless - they're plenty tasty in the ham salad sandwiches I often rustle-up on a weekend. :hungry:
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You're RIGHT, Shaun!!

Nothing against anyone here at all, but I think that website is generalizing, sensationalizing & fabricating that story about tomatoes being kept in the fridge.

This is part of the Internet & social media getting their hands on info and are feeding the wrong advice to consumers. Alright, some MAY keep certain things out of the fridge, but just who are they to say was is right for the consumer?! As the old saying goes, to each his own. Different strokes for different folks. :headshake::stop::mad:
 
Shermie said:
You're RIGHT, Shaun!!

Nothing against anyone here at all, but I think that website is generalizing, sensationalizing & fabricating that story about tomatoes being kept in the fridge.

This is part of the Internet & social media getting their hands on info and are feeding the wrong advice to consumers. Alright, some MAY keep certain things out of the fridge, but just who are they to say was is right for the consumer?! As the old saying goes, to each his own. Different strokes for different folks. :headshake::stop::mad:
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There are certain foods though that are best kept at room temperature. They tend to be the ones that don't survive cold temperatures, but are not necessarily from hot climates (some hot climates have quite cold temps in the winter (as I have found out!)). Citrus fruit is an example. It is often picked under-ripe so as to get to the customer in best shape and looking good. If you then keep it in the fridge, it can't ripen any further and I think that is the case with tomatoes, avocados and some of the other fruit and veg it mentions. A lot of the article actually states, if it is unripe don't keep it in the fridge until it is ripe.

If you've purchased an unripe avocado, don't store it in the fridge as it slows down the ripening process. Keep them on the counter until it's ripe and then place it in the fridge if you don't plan on eating it right away
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But I do agree, it is sensationalising it and not completing the headline. But that is news and media for you. You actually have to read the article, not just the headline and then draw your own conclusions.

I can see here in Australia, I will be keeping a lot of things in the fridge come the summer. But in the winter that we have just had and especially overnight, the fridge is actually keeping things warm and stopping them from freezing!
 
I agree with you SatNavSaysStraightOn. Our summer highs can reach 110 (43C) before the heat index and our winter highs can be as low as 20 (-6C) before the wind chill.
I live in the desert.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Ironically I don't, I live at 800m (+2,600ft) altitude in native eucalyptus woodland in eastern Australia (currently). I gather we have a very similar temperature range but I haven't yet had a summer here only having moved out to Australia this May.
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I am 200 feet above you in elevation. Our trees are mesquite and scrub oak. Within an hour of us, there are 4 different colors of sand.
 
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