The Hack For Perfect Tomato Storage Uses An Office Staple

Once your tomato plants start to fruit and the warm sun turns those little gems from green to juicy red, you know it's time to start making endless salads and BLTs. But unless you have the tomato variety that stays shelf stable for a long time, many people find themselves just crossing their fingers hoping the tomatoes hold up long enough to use before they shrivel or go bad. Storing them in the refrigerator isn't always the best option — the chill affects your store-bought or homegrown tomatoes' flavor and texture, making them taste dull and mealy, especially if you eat them straight from the fridge. And if you just dump them on your countertop, it won't be long before they start wrinkling. So what's the ideal storage solution? Keep them on your kitchen counter, and cover the stem end with tape.

Yes, you read that right. Office tape is the secret to your ripe tomatoes lasting longer without going soft and wrinkly, and it'll only take a couple of minutes to set it all up. First, after harvesting your tomatoes, select the freshest ripe ones you have. You don't want to begin with ones that are already over-ripe or nearing their end of their shelf life. Then, one by one, cut a small piece of tape of any kind and use that to close the stem end on each tomato. You can also first remove the stem stumps before doing this so the tape lies flat and completely covers the stem scar. With this hack, the tomatoes on your counter should remain nice and plump for up to 10 days.

There's no magic trick that that tape plays on your delicious summer fruits. The science behind this hack is that the tape prevents moisture loss, which is why the tomatoes can remain plump longer. The shriveling you sometimes see on tomatoes is due to them losing their internal water contents, which can seep out via the stem end. Tomato skins do a great job of keeping the fruit's juices inside, but that tiny spot where it was once attached to the vine is a vulnerable place through which moisture loss mostly occurs. And that's where the tape comes in handy.

Once you cover up the stem scar or stump with tape, you've essentially sealed off this pathway, so your tomatoes get to remain plump and bouncy even beyond a week of sitting on your counter. Covering the stem to prevent moisture loss is also the reasoning behind the hack of storing your tomatoes stem-side-down, and as an added bonus, these methods may even create a barrier to bacteria and mold.

Another advantage of using this hack is that whenever you want to use the tomatoes, you can just eat them immediately without waiting for them to come to room temperature, as would be the case with refrigerated tomatoes. The only downside to storing them on the countertop is that they can take up valuable counter space, but so long as you keep everything orderly, you can at least avoid visual clutter.