Laura Fuentes, founder of MOMables – where she shares her recipes tips and tricks – has revealed how you can make tomatoes stay fresh for longer. On her YouTube channel, Laura said you can “prevent mouldy spots” developing on tomatoes when storing them on the counter. While the mouldy spots “usually happen at the base of the softest part of your tomato”, one food storage hack could prevent this from occurring.

Laura said: “If your tomato has no vine, you can remove the stem and then place them upside down on your counter, on a cutting block, or your fruit basket.” She added: “If you’re keeping your tomatoes on the counter and want to slow down the ripening process, I recommend you individually wrap them in newspaper with no stem and upside down for up to three days.”

Without this food storage hack, ripened tomatoes should only be left on the counter “for about two days”.

To help prevent tomatoes from spoiling quickly, they are best stored in a “cool, dry place.”

This means they should ideally be stored the furthest away from the stove or oven, which produces heat that will cause the tomatoes to ripen more quickly.

Laura also recommended storing tomatoes away from any bright sunlight, so they shouldn’t be stored near a window (unless you want to ripen them faster).

The fridge is the next solution if you want them to last longer and slow down the ripening process further.

However, before enjoying a tomato, it’s recommended to rinse it with water and let it cool down to room temperature before slicing.

Also, as a word of caution, green tomatoes should not be stored in the fridge because they will not ripen at all.

Is the tomato ripe?

Ripe tomatoes will have a “taut” texture, with no wrinkling, but also feel slightly soft when gently pressing the body of the fruit.

Freezing tomatoes

Laura said: “You can freeze washed, clean tomatoes – whether whole or diced – but those tomatoes can only be used to make sauces, soups or stews.”

This is because freezing damages the texture of the tomato, which is mostly made up of water.

If stored in an airtight container (or zip bag) in the freezer, tomatoes should be able to last for “up to six months”.