son of a biscuit eating bulldog(tomatoes)

victoriavoodoo

I never have fresh things because when I crave something, I usually will eat it a whole bunch for a day or two and the rest will go bad. I don't even normally buy bread because it takes me over a month to finish a loaf/it always goes bad before I finish it. My fruit and vegetables come frozen. Really everything I eat is frozen or I cook all at once and freeze.

Also its too hot to have fresh things out and my apartment door doesn't seal so fruit flies. No.

Well today I was really craving a burger so I went and got tomatoes, frozen veggie patties and bread. I then sliced all of the tomatoes to have ready in the fridge for this week of burger making and my friend who was over and who just watched me do this is like you can't put those in the fridge(thanks for nothing lint licker)

So what am I supposed to do? I could totally eat them all tomorrow I love tomatoes but I don't really like burgers without tomatoes so I want them to last as long as the rest of my burger supplies!

TLDR - how do you store sliced tomatoes?





thanks

Alatariel75

They're fine in the fridge for a few days, as far as I'm aware? I've always just covered them in gladwrap and put them in there - if that's wrong, I've never noticed any downside!

Edit to add - now that I think about it, I've worked in any number of sandwich shops and food places and they all pre-slice their tomatoes and pop them in the fridge. As long as they're covered, they're fine. Did your friend say why you couldn't?

FlowerFairy493

I always store mine in the fridge as well. They keep fine for 3 or so days. Maybe even more. I wouldn't freeze them because they'd be all soggy and sloppy when defrosted...eeeuw

mockchoc

I always keep sliced bread in the freezer and either defrost in the microwave or on the kitchen counter and it's fine so maybe give that a try. Yes tomatoes won't go bad for a few days in the fridge covered but I'd prefer to just sliced off what I'm about to use and then plastic wrap the rest of that tomato .. or just much on it to finish it off.

victoriavoodoo

She said they would break down and the texture would get gritty like there's dirt or sand on them. I guess I'll just see how long they last; hopefully the week.

It is probably worth mentioning that both my friend and myself are very recent college grads who can't really use anything in the kitchen other than the microwave and freezer. So it's entirely possible she doesn't have a clue whats up.

I certainly don't, as this little foray into fresh foods has shown me.*backs slowly away into the welcoming embrace of the frozen foods section*

lynn_glenmont

She said they would break down and the texture would get gritty like there's dirt or sand on them. I guess I'll just see how long they last; hopefully the week.

On the rare occasions when I've stored sliced tomatoes (usually after a barbecue when I sliced too many for a gang of people), I've found that they get mushy within a day or two. It's a shame you can't keep them out of the refrigerator whole (best choice for retaining flavor or texture). Even putting them in the refrigerator whole and only slicing them as you need them would give you better flavor and texture than slicing them all ahead of time and hoping they'll last for a week. But, obviously, it's too late for that this time. Once they're sliced you definitely need to store them in the refrigerator (covered). I doubt they'll make you sick, and if you don't mind the taste and texture, you'll be OK.

As for the person who said they'd worked in food-service establishments that stored them sliced in the refrigerator, I doubt that was for more than a day (and probably less) -- they were probably sliced by the prep cooks at the beginning of the day or shift, and whatever was left at the end of the day was tossed.

I always keep sliced bread in the freezer and either defrost in the microwave or on the kitchen counter and it's fine so maybe give that a try.

Seconding this.

And you can freeze tomatoes for using in things where they'll be cooked, like sauce, stews, soups. You wouldn't use them raw after freezing because the texture won't be good.

ETA missing word.

mockchoc

No they won't go gritty. If they are very ripe they might just go a bit sloppy and lose some juices.

knittnponder

The "ideal" is to not refrigerate tomatoes but most of us do it all the time because, leftovers. They aren't going to be like eating sand. Might get a little mushy after a few days but I've never had mine get gritty.

ElkeKNJ

after a few days, you can use the tomatoes in your cooking: make a pasta sauce, or an omelet.

As to the microwave cooking, Tupperware has a microwave omelette maker. A bit of milk, egg, add whatever you want (salmon + brocolli or tomato + cheese, or mushrooms,...) and you have a great omelette in a few minutes. It's great for processing your leftovers, and nothing sticks to the pot. Unusually cheap for Tupperware as well.