Whether you’re whipping up a salad or indulging in a BLT, tomatoes are that wholesome yet tasty ingredient we find ourselves reaching for again and again.
As with plenty of fruit and veg we’re all familiar with, there’s nothing more frustrating — or increasingly expensive — than watching them deteriorate past their prime, and in some cases beginning to rot.
However, that’s where EatWithEvidence steps in. The YouTuber has recently shared a straightforward step-by-step approach to guarantee we can delve into our fridges confident that our tomatoes remain as fresh as the day we bought them.
In one of her videos, she explained how to pair the fruit with one common household staple to ensure tomatoes can maintain their quality for months on end – distilled white vinegar.
To start with, before gathering the ingredients, she explained we’ll need a large bowl, measuring cups and a kitchen towel.
Once that’s sorted, we should measure out a quarter cup of distilled white vinegar and mix it with 10 cups of water, reports the Express.
View 2 ImagesAll you need is some vinegar and water for this tomato hack(Image: Getty)
After completing this stage, she recommended giving the solution a stir with our hands before adding the tomatoes into the mixture.
Ensuring the tomatoes are completely submerged, she said they should be “tossed around a little” in the liquid before leaving them to soak for “exactly two minutes”.
Offering an insight into her method, she said: “As they soak, the vinegar solution gets to work, it helps to neutralise the existing mould spores and washes away surface bacteria that may be hanging out on the skin.
“The surface of your tomatoes is normally a neutral playground where microorganisms can grow. When you put the tomatoes into the acidic vinegar bath, you completely change that environment.”
Once the required time has passed, Tracy explained that it’s finally time to move on to the third and final step.
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Emphasising that it is every bit as vital as the preceding stages, she stressed the importance of thoroughly drying each tomato as it is removed from the bowl.
She advised paying particular attention to the stem, as it is especially susceptible to letting in mould further down the line if it isn’t dried sufficiently.
If you’re ever concerned that your tomatoes may have spoiled, there are usually several telltale signs to watch out for — including visible mould, a mushy or wrinkled texture, and an unusual smell, all of which could indicate that they are well past their best.