"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
>
> Did they ripen indoors or out? I wonder if a tomato that's ripened
> under natural outdoor conditions might be better. Just curious.
> --
> -Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats tab,
too.)

That depends. If the tomatoes are ripened outdoors, during full summer
conditions--long daylight and warm weather--they will be superior to
anything ripened indoors. If however it is the end of the season, days are
short, nights are quite cool, you will get a better flavor by ripening
indoors. Choose tomatoes for indoor ripening that have at least begun to
color toward white rather than all green. Of course in the case of
impending frost gather as many as you can that have begun to turn from all
dark green. The dark green ones will eventually ripen, but will be thin
meated, probably mealy and flavorless. I use the end of season ones for
evening meals as they ripen. To fully enjoy the flavor, rather than cooking
the tomatoes for the entire length of the soup or casserole, toss them in at
the end so that they just cook through. They will retain the flavor and
aroma of fresh tomatoes. Also, when I have these tomatoes ripening a few at
a time, I put them whole in zippered freezer bags and freeze. No need to
thaw for use in soups and casseroles, just run them quickly under hot water
and the peel slips right off. Let them rest for a minute or so on the
cutting board and they thaw just enough to be able to cut through them with
a chef's knife and then just drop the frozen pieces into the meal just at
the last and you get the same aroma and flavor of fresh tomatoes.
Janet