Contrary to what many people think, the tomatoes should not be kept in the fridge. Although they keep longer in the cold, fruits can lose their natural flavor. However, experts in the field still did not know the reason for the change in taste. Understand!
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According to specialists, when kept in the refrigerator, tomatoes can undergo alterations in their aromatic compounds. Thus, causing your taste to arrive distorted in the taste buds. Learn more about it below!
First of all, it is necessary to understand what aromatic compounds are and how they influence the change in tomato flavor when exposed to cold.
Basically, they are the compounds that give tomatoes their characteristic aroma. So explains Denise Tieman, one of the authors of the study published in the specialized American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The scientist also completes that, without the aromas, a good part of the flavor of the food is not felt, a since our sense of smell is a fundamental factor in the capacity of human beings to taste and appreciate food.
The research published in PNAS was able to explain the real reason why tomatoes lose their flavor when they are stored in the fridge: “Basically, when the tomato cools down, it sends a command to itself saying that it must stop producing the aromatic compounds”, informs Tieman.
Thus, when placed in an environment with less than 20°C, the tomato loses the genes that allow the development of aromatic compounds. Effect that is even more accentuated after the third day in the fridge.
Moreover, in previous studies, some researchers had already managed to discover that the cold does not change the flavor of tomatoes, but eliminates the aromatic compounds. However, what was not known is that the genes are blocked through a process called “methylation”, which happens when the tomato is refrigerated.
Once you understand why tomatoes are contraindicated in the refrigerator, learn how to store them correctly.
However, it is worth noting that after being refrigerated for the first time, it is not possible to reverse the methylation process. In addition, according to the authors of the research, the next stage of the study is to be able to develop tomatoes with genes that are resistant to cold.
However, while this has not yet happened, there is a way to pack tomatoes without having to use the refrigerator. To do this, just put wheat flour on the stem and accommodate them in a fruit bowl covered by a cloth.
