Although modern tomatoes are plumper than their antecedents, they're filled out with water instead of the sugars that form the basis for most of the fruit's flavour compounds. What these plumper tomatoes lack in flavour, they make up in shelf life.
One of the reporters at Lifehacker attempted to transform a few lackluster tomatoes into summer blockbusters by slicing them up and sprinkling on a little salt and "healthy pinches of table sugar". After leaving them on a wire rack for 10 minutes to dry out a bit, more salt and sugar was sprinkled on the slices.
The mass-produced tomatoes we buy at the grocery store tend to taste more like cardboard than fruit. Now researchers have discovered one reason why: a genetic mutation, common in store-bought tomatoes, that reduces the amount of sugar and other tasty compounds in the fruit.
All your ripe tomatoes are watery and tasteless.
Watery, tasteless fruit is due to overwatering. When a plant starts fruiting, it starts looking yellow and tired. That's when we often rush out to water the plant to perk it up. This is the wrong thing to do.
Industrialized soil doesn't give us the same vitamin and mineral content, and our taste buds can tell the difference. Homegrown tomatoes are more likely to be grown organically or, at the very least, in soil that hasn't been depleted.
Although modern tomatoes are plumper than their antecedents, they're filled out with water instead of the sugars that form the basis for most of the fruit's flavour compounds. What these plumper tomatoes lack in flavour, they make up in shelf life.
They're picked while still green to keep them firm and less likely to bruise during shipping. To enhance their appeal, they're later sprayed with ethylene, a natural gas that emits from the fruit on the vine. But the end result is usually flavourless, because most modern tomatoes aren't ripe — they're just red.
Even though many may think otherwise, people don't have to eat home-grown foods in order to get the most out of it. It seems to have been a long-standing notion that all of the best nutrients were lost once some kind of food was processed.
"A tomato high in sugars and low in acids has a sweet taste. If a tomato is low in both acids and sugars, it has a bland taste. The preferred flavor for most people results from high levels of acids combined with high level of sugars to balance the taste."
Cooking the tomatoes low and slow in olive oil and heavy seasoning will concentrate their flavor, drawing most of the water out. Drizzle your tomatoes with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper, then roast in a 200-degree oven for about an hour to an hour and a half.
They've found tomatoes lose flavour in the fridge because some of their genes chill out. Cooling tomatoes below 12 degrees Celsius stops them from making some of the substances that contribute to their taste, according to researchers who dug into the genetic roots of the problem.
Although it seems silly, this simple garden trick really works. The baking soda absorbs into the soil and lowers its acidity levels giving you tomatoes that are more sweet than tart.
Problem 6: All your ripe tomatoes are watery and tasteless
Watery, tasteless fruit is due to overwatering. When a plant starts fruiting, it starts looking yellow and tired. That's when we often rush out and water the plant to help perk it up.
Step 2: Sweeten Your Tomatos
Second when tomatos begin to appear and are about 1 inch in diameter lightly sprinkle baking soda around each plant to make them sweeter. Repeat this process again when tomatoes are about half grown.
For cooked sauces, canned tomatoes are vastly preferable to out-of-season supermarket tomatoes that are picked before fully ripe and bred for sturdiness to survive the long haul to market with minimal damage. Not only are they preserved at their peak, but the varieties grown for canning — Romas, San Marzanos, etc.
Perino. Packed full of flavour and naturally sweeter than other tomatoes with a firm texture. As the sweetest tomato, they are perfect for snacking and kids' lunch boxes.
One of the most popular tomato varieties to grow in Australia is the Gross Lisse. Great for staking, this trusty plant produces good yields of medium to large fruits and is able to adapt to most soil conditions. This variety produces the best fruit in a protected, warm, sunny spot with deep free-draining soil.
Try adding something acidic! Acids brighten up flavors and add a delicious tanginess. While you're warming up your pasta sauce, add a splash of red wine vinegar, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar, or add some chopped olives or capers. You'll be surprised by the difference a little bit of acid can make!
Soda Pop as Fertilizer
Club soda or carbonated water contain the macronutrients carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorous, potassium sulfur, and sodium that are essential for healthy plant growth. The absorption of these nutrients encourages more rapid growth in the plant.
Unnecessary additives that are not taken up by plants — including Epsom salt — can contaminate ground water. Adding Epsom salt to the soil tomatoes are growing in can actually promote blossom-end rot, a truly disappointing garden woe. The tomatoes start to bear fruit and then rot on the bottom.
Fact! Adding Epsom salts to your plant either through foliar spray or direct watering is a great way of boosting micronutrient absorption. This helps your tomato plant produce large, juicy, and very sweet fruits. Remember that a little bit goes a long way and too much can cause more problem than it fixes.