How can I prolong the shelf life of a tomato?
We've heard that storing a tomato with its stem end facing down
can prolong shelf life. To test this theory, we placed one batch
of tomatoes stem-end up and another stem-end down and stored them
at room temperature. A week later, nearly all the stem-down tomatoes
remained in perfect condition, while the stem-up tomatoes had
shriveled and started to mold. Why the difference? We surmised
that the scar left on the tomato skin where the stem once grew
provides both an escape for moisture and an entry point for mold
and bacteria. Placing a tomato stem-end down blocks air from
entering and moisture from exiting the scar. To confirm this
theory, we ran another test, this time comparing tomatoes stored
stem-end down with another batch stored stem-end up, but with a
piece of tape sealing off their scars. The taped, stem-end-up
tomatoes survived just as well as the stem-end-down batch.
From: Cook's Illustrated - Published July 1, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment