grocery store tomatoes

[rtvvvv]

yesterday we were forced to buy tomatoes at the store (uggh) anyway..besides being tasteless they have a large part of the center that is solid dense light white/pink color. and the texture is awful. just wondering what causes this? is it just the variety they use for commercial sale? is it forced ripening? or something else?

[taboule]

I've seen that too, core is real dense, almost woody and hard to cut out. I don't know what causes it.

Worse is to find black seeds that started germinating. Both DW and I find it creepy and enough to lose one's appetite for that tomato.

[sirtanon]

My take on it is that they were picked too early (most grocery store tomatoes are, at least to some extent), and then forcibly ripened. The result is poor texture, poor/no flavor, and often part of the tomato that is just plain inedible.

I think there may also be a genetics factor involved as well, since many of these tomato varieties are bred primarily for storage/transport longevity and hardiness.

Originally Posted by taboule

Worse is to find black seeds that started germinating. Both DW and I find it creepy and enough to lose one's appetite for that tomato.

I've seen this many times. At least one time, I cut the tomato into parts and planted it and ended up with plants.

[Koala Doug]

Basically, they are immature tomatoes that are picked when they are still green and not even fully grown (then they are hit with ethylene gas to make then turn red and appear, to the layman, to be ripe).

[Nan_PA_6b]

I've seen the hard white stuff in home-grown, vine-ripened tomatoes. I think some varieties are more prone to it.

Nan

[sirtanon]

Good point, Nan.. I do recall reading, in some various forum threads I've seen, that people who have tried growing plants out from seeds saved from Campari tomatoes resulted in fruit that had a noticeable white core in it.

[Worth1]

Bad breeding.

Worth

[clkeiper]

I do know that I had some last year with woody white cores. I was told by crop king it was a nutrient deficiency. it looked perfectly fine on the outside. nasty on the inside.

[pmcgrady]

Why would someone save seeds from a crappy tomato, and then try to grow them?

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

Why would someone save seeds from a crappy tomato, and then try to grow them?

Agree.
I have only saved seeds from tomatoes sold as "Heirloom" that i liked. Right now i am growing 4 of them, for the third or fourth time. And they are my favorites.
On the woody texture of store tomatoes, i second that the were picked green , hit with ethyline.
Off season i only buy cherry type
.

[zipcode]

Your picture doesn't look too bad. I've seen much whiter than that (like really white like a strange sponge).

The growing conditions were not suitable for that particular variety. Night temps, day temps, etc, too much nitrogen. If one tries to grow a performance hybrid they must also adhere to certain recommendations for that hybrid. It's mostly related to potassium content apparently, whose absorption is greatly influenced by temps, which is why one sees this mostly in cold winter grown or high heat grown in summer. Some varieties are much more prone to this than other of course, but if one grew that specific variety in the specific conditions that were used when it was bred it would almost surely not have that problem.

[JerryHaskins]

As others have said, they were picked green and shipped from lord knows how far away.

But if a tomato has ever been refrigerated, it is not going to taste good.

And I suspect that many store bought tomatoes have been warehoused in the store's cooler for some time prior to being put out for sale.

[saltmarsh]

If you want a good tomato year round, the solution is simple, but not well known.

A Hot Water bath.

I've been using it for over 2 years during the off season.

Here's how I do it.

Go to the grocery and select 5 or 6 pounds of tomatoes. What I prefer is the red slicers with a Mexican label. The current price is $1.15 per pound. No blenishes and the less ripe ones.

Run a pot of water in your sink 125 degrees. Place the tomatoes in the water for 5 minutes with a saucer on top to hold them down.

After 5 minutes remove them to a towel on the counter and allow them to air dry. After they are dry, let them ripen on the counter for a week to 10 days depending on how ripe they were to start with. (don't refrigerate)

You can start eating them after a week. Really makes a difference. Enjoy, Claud.

TIPS AND HINTS.

It's not uncommon to find the red slicers on sale for .88 per pound from November to March in my area. I do a batch when the sale starts and another batch before the sale ends. (Wednesday and Tuesday here)

I use a little round thermometer that cost a couple of bucks and a timer to remind me when its time to take them out of the bath.

The hot water bath doesn' t work with "Tomatoes On The Vine".

Romas are normally too ripe to use.

Be careful removeing the labels and stems. Don't bruise the fruit!

Tell your friends about it and give them a tomato.

125 Degrees for 5 Minutes.

[oakley]

My mother still buys those cellophane packed toms in a sleeve of three and keeps them
in the fridge, .
Why I never liked tomatoes in my youth. I did like the farmstead Jersey we would get
in the summer months.
She even says, "I know, Martha always said do not put tomatoes in the fridge".
(does not really matter with that hot house brand)

The only market toms I buy in the winter are Kumato. Still only twice this year for BLT's.
I have to give them a splash of good vinegar and sea salt.

We even have a big open display of greenhouse 'heirlooms' but have never been tempted. The
cherries don't have much flavor, just color.

[zipcode]

I'm surprised the Mexico tomatoes aren't that good. I would expect them to be grown in soil since it's cheaper to start and they should have decent light levels. In Europe winter grape tomatoes from Tunisia and Morocco are most often really good, better than an average gardener manages in his garden.