How to ripen green tomatoes?

Tomatoes are synonymous with summer, and if they are homemade, from your garden, then it is a special atmosphere. Few vegetables are tastier than summer tomatoes, which is why every lover of this seasonal crop should learn the tricks of how to ripen green tomatoes.

Knowing when they are ripe and ready to eat can be difficult. If you eat a tomato before it has reached that peak of ripeness, it means that you will miss out on its full flavor. If you let it ripen too long, animals and bugs can enjoy it before you take your first bite. We asked gardening and farming experts to share the right way to harvest, ripen and store tomatoes.

If you harvest vegetables at the right time, you will feel their best taste

Harvesting green tomatoes

You will recognize an unripe tomato by its color. Fortunately, it is possible to ripen green tomatoes after you have picked them. Many people choose to ripen tomatoes indoors.

Before the colder weather sets in, all tomato fruits are harvested, usually in late fall, so they can ripen safely indoors. Please note:

Green tomatoes left on the vine during freezing are mostly subject to frost and are inedible.

They should be harvested when the vegetables begin to change color and soften to the touch. At this point, most of the carbohydrates and sugars are already present in some form, but ripening indoors will improve the flavor, he adds.

Do not pick green tomatoes that are too small

When picked while still unripe, green tomatoes can rot before ripening. How can you check how far the tomatoes have reached? Take an average sized tomato and cut it in half. If the gelatin that holds the seeds is fluid enough that when you cut the tomato, the seeds can move, then tomatoes of that size and larger will ripen.

However, tomatoes are most likely to rot before ripening if the liquid around the seed is not loose enough to allow the seed to move away from the knife blade.

Separate ripe and unripe tomatoes

Depending on the type of tomato and when it was picked, some varieties can ripen in a few days, while others can take up to two weeks or more. Check your tomatoes often and remove those that are fully ripe.

Everything you need to know about growing tomatoes successfully

How to ripen green tomatoes

Here are some ways to get the best results.

Hang a tomato plant indoors

Tomatoes that ripen on the vine taste better.

Pass it on: Instead of picking tomatoes at the end of the season, dig up the whole plant (which will die anyway).

The right place: Hang it in a cool, dry place that gets some light indoors (avoid too much sun) and let the fruits color on the vine.

Leave the tomato on the table

Experts agree that chilling ripe tomatoes spoils their taste; it also stops the ripening process.

If you brought a slightly unripe tomato home from the market or pulled it out of the garden, leave it on the table at room temperature and allow it to slowly ripen on its own.

Paper bag method

Tomatoes rely on ethylene gas—not sunlight—to ripen, so keeping green tomatoes indoors at a controlled temperature after harvest will speed up the process. Choose a paper bag or cardboard box, which will allow better air flow and lower humidity, so that a better concentration of natural ethylene gas can be maintained.

Add some other vegetables: Since other vegetables release ethylene gas as they ripen, exposing green tomatoes to other ripening vegetables will help them ripen faster.

For example, placing it in a paper bag with a ripe banana will emit ethylene gas, helping to speed up the ripening of your tomatoes.

Banana alternative: If you don’t have a banana on hand, an apple will also do the job.

What methods do you use?

Source: Martha Stewart