What’s the difference between fresh and non-fresh fruits and vegetables?
And I don’t mean “fresh food comes from the farmer’s market,” but rather: why does a freshly-picked tomato taste different from one that has been sitting on a shelf? What chemical or biological changes happen?
In: Biology
Most grocery stores use what are referred to as bullet proof tomatoes. These tomatoes can take more handling and store longer than your backyard varieties. The trade off for being tougher is that they don’t have the same flavor. Store bought tomatoes are also going to be refrigerated along the process of going from the farm to your local store. If the tomatoes weren’t quite ripe then this stunts the ripening process. Also you may see some breakdown of the cell walls when chilled, changing the texture. Now I’m remembering another thing I miss from back home, creole tomatoes.
Once you cut the tomatoes then you should put them in the fridge if you need to store them for an extended time. Otherwise leave them out at room temp (assuming you don’t live in a igloo).
TLDR: Farmers market or back yard grown tomatoes are a different variety of the ones in most stores.
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