I Tested 8 Ways to Store Tomatoes — This Simple Trick Kept Them Juicy and Mold-Free for Over a Week

Fresh tomatoes are the crown jewels of summer. They can transform an ordinary sandwich into something special and are also perfect with a simple drizzle of good olive oil and flaky sea salt. Their season feels all too brief, so it’s best to enjoy them while they are at their peak.

That means it’s important to store tomatoes properly to extend their shelf life as long as possible, especially if, like me, your backyard garden overflows with the fruit for just a few weeks. Whether you grow your own, stock up on tomatoes at your local farmers market, or simply buy them at a grocery store, they will start to get soft, mushy, and even moldy if stored improperly.

I tested eight ways to store fresh tomatoes with the goal of keeping them mold-free, juicy, and flavorful for the longest amount of time.

As an avid gardener, former line cook, and culinary school graduate, I know a bit about storing fresh produce, but I admit I learned something during this test. The best way to store fresh tomatoes is exceptionally simple, but requires an everyday item found more often in an office than in a kitchen. Read on to learn the results of my experiment.

A word about my method

I used the same type of tomatoes for all the tests, all purchased from my local co-op. Since it’s still too soon for local fresh tomatoes, I had to buy greenhouse-grown tomatoes from Canada (we get a lot of our produce from Canada where I live in Vermont). They were labeled as slicing tomatoes, and while I’m unsure of the specific variety, they all looked the same and were all within one or two days of being perfectly ripe. These are the same brand and type of tomatoes I buy for making a BLT or grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.

The tomatoes were left undisturbed for a full week, though I checked their status every day to note any substantial changes. The full test ran for nine days (the length of time the winning method kept my tomatoes fresh), so all photos in this article were from the final day of the test. In addition, for all methods (except the two in the refrigerator), I tested tomatoes stem side up and stem side down. I then judged based on appearance, firmness, and flavor. Each method got a score and a “best by” day, referring to how many days the tomatoes were at their best.

Keep in mind that these tests were all with greenhouse-grown grocery store tomatoes, so I suspect the results would look different if I used tomatoes picked ripe from my garden. With that in mind, scroll down for the top-performing methods. 

Uncovered in the fridge

Best by: 2 days
Score: 3/10

Results: The one piece of advice we’ve all been told is not to store fresh tomatoes in the refrigerator. That’s because cold air can turn them mealy and flavorless, though I’ve had perfectly good Roma tomatoes right out of the fridge. Still, for this test with slicing tomatoes, they started to degrade fairly quickly. On the second day, the tomatoes started to lose their firmness. I sampled one at this point and found they were a bit mealy and lost the quintessential sweetness I associate with a fresh tomato. By the full nine days, they were completely inedible, overly mushy with withered skin. 

Refrigerated in an airtight container 

Best by: 4 days
Score: 4/10

Results: I placed a few tomatoes in separate airtight containers and popped them on a shelf in the fridge. Just like storing them uncovered in the fridge, this method produced quite flavorless tomatoes after several days, though they were slightly less mealy than with the previous technique. The container seemed to help them stay fresh a bit longer, but by the fourth day they started to degrade. After the full nine days, they held their shape but definitely picked up some mushy, inedible parts.

Sealed in a plastic bag on the counter

Best by: 5 days
Score: 6.5/10

Results: For this method I simply placed tomatoes in a zip-close bag, sealed it, then placed it on the counter (away from direct sunlight). There was no noticeable change after the first few days; I tasted one on the fifth day and found it maintained its relatively taut skin and juicy flesh. After that, however, I noticed some bruising, mushy sections, and even some areas of mold. 

Uncovered on a wire rack

Best by: 6 days
Score: 7.5/10

Results: Aside from the winner, the rest of these storage methods worked very well and had only minor differences; however, this specific method came with a drawback. I set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and placed tomatoes stem side up and stem side down and set the baking sheet on the counter out of direct sunlight. The problem here is the wire rack. After about five days it created little hatch marks on the surface of the tomatoes. This problem only got worse by days seven or eight when the portions touching the rack actually started to split the skin. However, flavor and texture were excellent at six days, and by the full nine days the undamaged sections were decent but a bit soft.

Uncovered on the counter

Best by: 6 days
Score: 9/10

Results: This is generally how I’ve stored my tomatoes in the past, and with little thought. For this test, I simply found a section of my counter that doesn’t get direct sunlight, then placed tomatoes stem side up and stem side down on the counter and checked on them every day. The big discovery with this method was how well the stem side down tomatoes performed compared to stem side up. Storing the tomatoes stem side up resulted in the tops getting soft and mushy after five or six days, but the stem side down tomatoes stayed firm and just like new for at least a week. While there is a slightly better method, I can happily report that storing tomatoes stem side down keeps them fresh and delicious for a long time. I tasted the tomatoes after six days and they were perfect. They started to degrade, however, by day nine.

Uncovered on a rimmed baking sheet

Best by: 6 days
Score: 9/10

Results: You’ll note that several of these methods tied, and that’s because there was little to no difference to the quality of the tomatoes. This test was identical to the countertop method, but I placed the tomatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet and moved that baking sheet to a sun-free area of my kitchen. The results were exactly the same as with the counter. The advantage in this technique is you can carefully move the tomatoes without disturbing them. And the stem side down tomatoes were again noticeably superior to those that were stem side up.

Covered on the counter

Best by: 6 days
Score: 9/10

Results: These tomatoes were stored on the counter but covered with a glass container. The results were the same as the previous two on this list as the container didn’t seem to do all that much (aside from protecting against accidental bruises). After six days, the tomatoes stored under the container, especially those stem side down, looked excellent and tasted perfectly sweet and juicy. By day nine the tomatoes had some minor bruises here and there.

Winner: Stem end covered with tape

Best by: 9 days
Score: 10/10

Results: It turns out tomatoes can lose moisture through the stem stump, which is why storing them stem side down is best as it slows moisture loss. When researching these tests, I came across an article from our sibling site Serious Eats, which mentioned placing a small piece of tape over the stem stump to reduce moisture loss. It worked: Taping the stem stump certainly helps tomatoes stay fresh, plump, and juicy. My tomatoes stayed good for a full nine days, outlasting all other methods on this list. There was no difference whether the tomatoes were stored stem side up or stem side down, so long as the stump was taped to seal in the moisture. Consider me pleasantly surprised by this simple trick.

Final takeaways

If you plan to use fresh tomatoes in a few days, or even up to five or six days, simply store them on the counter in a sun-free space, stem side down: This helps retain moisture, keeping the tomatoes fresh and delicious. For longer storage, however, consider placing a small piece of tape on the stem and leaving the tomatoes on a flat surface undisturbed for a week or more.