How long do tomatoes last

Keep a whole tomato on the counter, out of direct sun, stem side up. FoodKeeper prints the counter as 7 days and says those days come after ripening. The fridge is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a fridge day. The counter ends the moment you cut it. Put the cut face in a closed box in the fridge. A sooner date on the pack wins. Date types are on the use-by and best-before guide.

Cherry tomatoes are a different product. FoodKeeper prints the counter as 10 days and the fridge as 5 days. The freezer cell is No time is printed for this cell. Folding the two rows into one day is not this page’s job. Do not shut them in the same closed drawer as lettuce. A tomato gives off ethylene, and a leaf wilts. The map of the fridge is in the fridge article. If you are still unsure, the still-safe tool asks from the short end of the chart.

Get perishable food into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking it or bringing it home, and within 1 hour if the kitchen is above 32°C (90°F). USDA FSIS and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry both publish that cutoff. A closed deep pot stays warm; a shallow box cools.

A chart is a window, not a verdict on the container in your hand. A sour smell, a slimy surface, or mould means it is finished, even on day one. This page is not medical advice.

• A soft, wet, collapsing side. The slight give of a ripe fruit is not that.
• Mould, often at the stem end or in a crack. Eating around the mould does not rescue that tomato.
• A sour, fermented smell. The tomato’s own smell is not that.
• Black or white rot spreading on the skin. Cutting out a small spot is one thing. Rot across half the fruit is another.

Turning red is not spoilage. That is the state where the counter days begin.

Cook or chop a whole tomato, portion it, press out the air, and freeze it. FoodKeeper prints the freezer as 2 months. The ministry caps vegetables at 12 months. The line is not named tomato. The bold number is two months. The months are about quality. USDA says food held continuously at −18°C (0°F) stays safe. The cherry tomato’s freezer cell is No time is printed for this cell. No month is pasted onto that row.

Thaw in the fridge. Do not refreeze what has thawed. Frozen tomatoes are for a sauce or a cooked dish. The texture of a fresh slice does not come back. Freezing a raw whole tomato on its stem is not what this row recommends.

Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Do not refreeze a portion that has thawed. The ministry states the same rule: thaw frozen food in the fridge and take out only what you will eat.

• A tomato lasts a week in the fridge. The fridge cell is No time is printed for this cell. FoodKeeper prints no fridge day.
• Cherry tomatoes share the seven days. The cherry counter is 10 days and the fridge is 5 days. The whole tomato’s counter is 7 days.
• A year in the freezer is a use-by date. That is the ministry vegetable ceiling, 12 months. The line is not named tomato. The bold number is FoodKeeper’s two months, 2 months. The months are about quality.

The windows assume a generally healthy household. Pregnancy, young children, older age, or a weakened immune system are reasons to keep the shorter figure, to skip raw or undercooked food, and to reheat leftovers until the centre is steaming. USDA’s figure for reheating leftovers is 74°C (165°F).

Heating a mouldy tomato does not undo mould. In pregnancy, for young children, in older age, or with a weakened immune system, do not sort a mouldy fruit by tasting it. A cut tomato is perishable. A cut slice that sat out warm is not made safe by soup. A tomato is not raw meat. Eating around the mould still does not rescue that fruit.