Tomato lovers know the difference between garden-picked and store-bought tomatoes. Especially in winter, we probably won’t get tasty and juicy tomatoes. But with a small and simple trick, we can turn almost any tomato into a delicacy.
The problem with supermarket tomatoes is the harvesting of almost unripe fruits, which must then ripen in warehouses in a cold environment in order to slow down this process as much as possible and thus keep the vegetables fresh for a long time. After all, he often travels almost halfway around the world. But experts have come up with a method to give even such tomatoes a taste similar to the one we remember from our childhood from our grandmother’s garden.
You can also learn more about tomato processing at My TikTok.
Awaken the taste and smell
To awaken the aroma and delicious taste of tomatoes, we will need nothing more than a little warm water. Yes, it’s that simple, you just need to know that it really works. As we know, tomatoes that ripen in the sun not only have plenty of natural light, but also heat. And it is this that acts as a drive for the enzymes that help release the natural sweetness and aroma of the tomatoes. The supermarket has not yet received such an option, so at least we can give it to them.
Warm water will do
How can we really get the maximum flavor and aroma from bland, hard and mealy tomatoes? Just prepare warm water – not hot, just a few degrees warmer than your body temperature. So you don’t need to check anything with a thermometer, just put your hand in the water and if you feel a slight heat, the water is properly heated. It must not be more than fifty degrees Celsius.
It will be done in a moment
The next procedure is not a science either. Simply immerse the tomatoes in such water for ten minutes and wipe them after removing them. The enzymes are already activated at that point, and if you wait a few more hours, there is a high probability that you will not recognize that it was fruit from the supermarket.
To begin with, you can try to treat only half of the purchased pieces in this way so that you can compare the difference. But you can bet that next time you won’t leave even a single tomato without a warm bath.
Better skip the fridge
Whether you decide to “bath” the tomatoes or not, definitely do not store them in the refrigerator. Better to buy a smaller quantity that you will use up faster. As mentioned, the cold does not have a positive effect on these vegetables at all.
If a specific dish does not require it, it will also be better to buy smaller tomatoes – the cherry variant is usually available. In most cases, these are naturally sweeter pieces that get their taste even after two days of staying at room temperature.
Try heat treating them
And if the tomatoes still don’t have the right taste, it will be best to heat them, either in the oven or in a pan. With baked garlic, a few drops of olive oil, or balsamic vinegar, even those that were not lucky enough to receive at least the basic conditions for quality ripening will get a more pronounced taste. Will you try any of these options? You don’t pay anything for it and you can only get unexpectedly tasty tomatoes even in winter.
Sources: www.wsj.com, www.bonappetit.com, www.simplyrecipes.com
