Tomatoes, Round (Red)
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Description:
Tomatoes are an ancient crop, thought to have originated in Central America centuries ago. While the tomato has become associated with Mediterranean cuisine, they were are relatively late arrive to the European pantry, not arriving until the 16th century.
FIELD GROWN USDA STANDARDS
- US #1
- US Combination
- US #2
- US #3
SIZING
Sizing of round tomatoes is based on the diameter of the fruit, with the USDA size grades being Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-large. You may see a different nomenclature on your tomato boxes, 4×5, 5×6, etc.
This harkens back to when they were hand-packed and a way of easily notating the size, as it indicates the number of rows by the number of columns each box would hold. The smaller the numbers indicates a larger tomato.
COLOR STAGES
Much like bananas, they have a color-based ripeness designation. There are 6 different ordering stages that range from green (Stage 1) to red (Stage 6) where 90% of the tomato is red. Click the blog link below (or here) for the complete description of all stages and a handy color chart illustration.
Recommended Storage
The ideal storage temperature for tomatoes is 55°F. Once they are ripe, they can be stored in refrigeration for a short period of time. Note: green tomatoes should be stored in refrigeration to slow the ripening process.
Tomatoes will continue to ripen when exposed to warm temperatures, so you do have the ability to ripen them. As tomatoes ripen, they produce ethylene, so care needs to be taken to avoid storing them near ethylene sensitive products. Tomatoes are also sensitive to ethylene exposure, and green tomatoes will begin to ripen when exposed to ethylene.
Download our PDF for more cooler storage hints.
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