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.

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

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.

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

On Tue, 4 Nov 2003 18:13:46 -0500, "Beth"
wrote:



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.


I've pretty much decided to use the canned diced tomatoes
all winter, I agree that they're better than the so-called
'fresh' tomatoes in the stores: with the exception of the
little grape tomatoes. Those seem to stay pretty nice even
in winter. Can't afford them often, though, they're
expensive.

Pat
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how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.

I'm not so sure year-'round imported supplies of produce are a good
idea. (Personal Rant) I argued my position of locally-grown produce
in season with someone who, next day, served "fresh" cherry tomatoes
in a Chirstmas (N. Hemisphere) salad that had approximately the taste
of cotton balls. I guess she didn't understand my point. A
"traditional" Christmas dinner includes late fall and root veg, nuts,
apples, sturdy greens, preserves, sweets, etc., not "tossed" salads.

I think that Xmas/tomato conversation may have started with a
discussion of agribusiness. Tomatoes, as we know, tend to grow and
ripen on a fairly random schedule. Which means a *lot* of labor to
harvest at or just slightly before peak. Over and over for the same
plants. This is not friendly for large mechanized food operations, so
a lot of effort has gone into producing plants that will "deliver" a
reasonably reliable crop that can be harvested mechanically at one
time. Treating with ethylene gas will turn the green 'uns red, and
tomatoes *do* ripen off the vine, 'though not nearly so tastily.
Agricultural colleges don't get grants to produce good taste --
funding is for sturdy, packable, *efficient* fruit.

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

Although I definitly make it a point to grow my own or buy local grown and
am lucky enough to live where there is a local greenhouse who grows tomatoes
all season and this year is selling to public after only supplying
restaraunts for the past few years.
I am wondering why the grocery stores don't just sell green tomatoes we
could 'ripen them ourselves at home. They sell green bananas, green
advocados, green a lot of other fruits - why not tomatos?

I haven't bought a grocery store tomato for a few yrs now - don't miss them
a bit.. When my own fresh supply and then canned supply runs out (damn never
seem to produce quite enough to get through the winter) I use canned - at
least they taste like tomatoes.


"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.

I'm not so sure year-'round imported supplies of produce are a good
idea. (Personal Rant) I argued my position of locally-grown produce
in season with someone who, next day, served "fresh" cherry tomatoes
in a Chirstmas (N. Hemisphere) salad that had approximately the taste
of cotton balls. I guess she didn't understand my point. A
"traditional" Christmas dinner includes late fall and root veg, nuts,
apples, sturdy greens, preserves, sweets, etc., not "tossed" salads.

I think that Xmas/tomato conversation may have started with a
discussion of agribusiness. Tomatoes, as we know, tend to grow and
ripen on a fairly random schedule. Which means a *lot* of labor to
harvest at or just slightly before peak. Over and over for the same
plants. This is not friendly for large mechanized food operations, so
a lot of effort has gone into producing plants that will "deliver" a
reasonably reliable crop that can be harvested mechanically at one
time. Treating with ethylene gas will turn the green 'uns red, and
tomatoes *do* ripen off the vine, 'though not nearly so tastily.
Agricultural colleges don't get grants to produce good taste --
funding is for sturdy, packable, *efficient* fruit.

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

Well, my sister takes green tomatoes from my plants at the end of the
season and wraps each one in paper. Then she puts them in a box in a dark
closet. Once a week she takes them out to check for ripe ones, then
replaces the rest. Way too much trouble for me, but it works for her.

Regards, hawk

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:48:22 GMT, Tina Gibson wrote:

Although I definitly make it a point to grow my own or buy local grown
and
am lucky enough to live where there is a local greenhouse who grows
tomatoes
all season and this year is selling to public after only supplying
restaraunts for the past few years.
I am wondering why the grocery stores don't just sell green tomatoes we
could 'ripen them ourselves at home. They sell green bananas, green
advocados, green a lot of other fruits - why not tomatos?

I haven't bought a grocery store tomato for a few yrs now - don't miss
them
a bit.. When my own fresh supply and then canned supply runs out (damn
never
seem to produce quite enough to get through the winter) I use canned - at
least they taste like tomatoes.


"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.

I'm not so sure year-'round imported supplies of produce are a good
idea. (Personal Rant) I argued my position of locally-grown produce
in season with someone who, next day, served "fresh" cherry tomatoes
in a Chirstmas (N. Hemisphere) salad that had approximately the taste
of cotton balls. I guess she didn't understand my point. A
"traditional" Christmas dinner includes late fall and root veg, nuts,
apples, sturdy greens, preserves, sweets, etc., not "tossed" salads.

I think that Xmas/tomato conversation may have started with a
discussion of agribusiness. Tomatoes, as we know, tend to grow and
ripen on a fairly random schedule. Which means a *lot* of labor to
harvest at or just slightly before peak. Over and over for the same
plants. This is not friendly for large mechanized food operations, so
a lot of effort has gone into producing plants that will "deliver" a
reasonably reliable crop that can be harvested mechanically at one
time. Treating with ethylene gas will turn the green 'uns red, and
tomatoes *do* ripen off the vine, 'though not nearly so tastily.
Agricultural colleges don't get grants to produce good taste --
funding is for sturdy, packable, *efficient* fruit.






--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

This works like a champ for us. We actually put the tomatoes between layers
of newspaper. My wife puts a cut apple in the layer at the top and they
ripen more quickly. After we eat these, we move the apple to the next
layer. last year, we had ripe, good tasting tomatoes until Christmas.


hawk wrote in message
...
Well, my sister takes green tomatoes from my plants at the end of the
season and wraps each one in paper. Then she puts them in a box in a dark
closet. Once a week she takes them out to check for ripe ones, then
replaces the rest. Way too much trouble for me, but it works for her.

Regards, hawk

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:48:22 GMT, Tina Gibson wrote:

Although I definitly make it a point to grow my own or buy local grown
and
am lucky enough to live where there is a local greenhouse who grows
tomatoes
all season and this year is selling to public after only supplying
restaraunts for the past few years.
I am wondering why the grocery stores don't just sell green tomatoes we
could 'ripen them ourselves at home. They sell green bananas, green
advocados, green a lot of other fruits - why not tomatos?

I haven't bought a grocery store tomato for a few yrs now - don't miss
them
a bit.. When my own fresh supply and then canned supply runs out (damn
never
seem to produce quite enough to get through the winter) I use canned -
at
least they taste like tomatoes.


"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.

I'm not so sure year-'round imported supplies of produce are a good
idea. (Personal Rant) I argued my position of locally-grown produce
in season with someone who, next day, served "fresh" cherry tomatoes
in a Chirstmas (N. Hemisphere) salad that had approximately the taste
of cotton balls. I guess she didn't understand my point. A
"traditional" Christmas dinner includes late fall and root veg, nuts,
apples, sturdy greens, preserves, sweets, etc., not "tossed" salads.

I think that Xmas/tomato conversation may have started with a
discussion of agribusiness. Tomatoes, as we know, tend to grow and
ripen on a fairly random schedule. Which means a *lot* of labor to
harvest at or just slightly before peak. Over and over for the same
plants. This is not friendly for large mechanized food operations, so
a lot of effort has gone into producing plants that will "deliver" a
reasonably reliable crop that can be harvested mechanically at one
time. Treating with ethylene gas will turn the green 'uns red, and
tomatoes *do* ripen off the vine, 'though not nearly so tastily.
Agricultural colleges don't get grants to produce good taste --
funding is for sturdy, packable, *efficient* fruit.






--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.
These are the famous (infamous) hot house tomatoes that we tomatoe
lovers avoid like the plague. I think that they are artifically
ripened with ethelye (?sp) gas. I do not know of any way to make them
edible.
Best,
Richard

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

The last of the hard, red tomatoes is still sitting on the window
sill. It's starting to look a bit shopworn. Still hard. When I
finally do slice it..it probably will go to the compost pile rather
than to any salad or sandwich here.
Ugh!

how do they make tomatoes red when they are not ripe
 

On 4 Nov 2003 13:57:24 -0800, (Doctoroe) wrote:

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.

Depends on how close they were to ripening on the vine.

Dan