This is prime tomato season. Some of us either buy quantities of or have an abundance of the fruit to harvest and a few key tips on how to properly handle and store our bounty is valuable.

Handling:

1. Tomatoes, especially the coveted heirlooms, are fragile – treat them with care from the time you pick them or buy them.
2. Try to not stack tomatoes one over another as this will cause bruising. Yes, this can be challenging when buying tomatoes at the grocery store, but I like to use the built-in child seat/purse holder, as my tomato carrier when I can lay my fruit in a single layer.
3. As you pick tomatoes off the vine, or as you select tomatoes in the store, remove the stems to ensure other tomatoes don’t get pierced and poked.

Storing:

Never, ever store tomatoes in the refrigerator. The cold temperature turns juicy tomatoes into a mealy, soggy mess and ruins the flavor.

Enjoy tomato season and share some photos of your harvest with me!

Veronique