There are several things contributing to the awful taste of your tomatoes.

Grocery stores want tomatoes that are bright red and do not rot quickly.
Tomato breeders have perfected those requirements, but unfourtunetly,
varieties that are firm and ship well across the country do not often have
much flavor.

Grocery store tomatoes are picked at the "breaking" stage, when they are
still green but are just starting to turn pinkish-orange. They are often
then "gassed" with a product that causes them to color up while remaining
very firm. I have seen this process, and it is not an appetizing thing.

My reccomendation is to buy tomatoes from local growers if possible, or use
canned diced tomatoes. They are so much better tasting than the "fresh" ones
in the produce section.

Beth
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doctoroe"
Newsgroups: rec.gardens.edible
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 4:57 PM
Subject: how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe


Just bought some bright red tomatoes at the grocery, since we are out
of the fresh ones. These are hard as can be. Obviously they are
green. How do they make em red when they are obviously not ripe? The
first one we tried had about as much taste as sawdust. Now have the
other two sitting in the window sill, but they are still hard as
softballs.
"Doctoroe" wrote in message
m...
Just bought some bright red tomatoes at the grocery, since we are out
of the fresh ones. These are hard as can be. Obviously they are
green. How do they make em red when they are obviously not ripe? The
first one we tried had about as much taste as sawdust. Now have the
other two sitting in the window sill, but they are still hard as
softballs.