Storing Green Tomatoes
"1. You can pull
the vines, hang them upside down
in the garage or basement and,
when the fruit is ripe, pick it from
the vine. The temperature
should be 55 to 65 degrees. One problem:
You'll have to clean up
the dirt and tomato-vine debris later.
"2. Pick the tomatoes
and refrigerate the ripe ones. The pinks can
be ripened in a
ripening bowl (a large plastic-covered bowl with
holes drilled
in the top). The cover traps the natural ethylene gas
and speeds
up the ripening process. The air holes allow air and
moisture
circulation.
"3. For long-term storage, wrap each tomato in
newspaper, then place
them, no more than two or three layers
deep, in open crates or
baskets. Store in a cool, dark place."
"Another storage method is to set the tomatoes on a rack
without
touching. Cover with a cloth or newspaper. The
temperature should be
between 55 and 60 degrees and the air a
little humid, not damp.
"If you need ripe tomatoes, place
those that have turned pink in a
ripening bowl or in an area
with a temperature between 65 and 70
degrees.
"No matter
what method of storage you use, check daily for ripened
fruit
and store them in the refrigerator."
From Alice Colombo's
09/21/94 "Cook's Corner" column in "The
(Louisville, KY)
Courier-Journal."
