Why do the tomatoes sold in the store taste so awful?

Question

Some tomatoes in the store taste about as "flavorful" as the plastic they're wrapped in.

Answer 1

Because they are picked green and put into an Argon gas chamber that reddens the outside without actually ripening the tomato.

Answer 2

They taste so awful because they are not allowed to fully ripen. They are usually picked when they are still yellow or green and are then placed in a warehouse where they are treated with a gas that turns them bright red. This makes them look great but taste relatively flavorless. If you want great tomatoes I would suggest looking at a local farmers market in the middle of summer, their products are always fresher and they often offer a better variety than the supermarket.

Answer 3

That's because they were picked when they were very green and not ripe.

The green tomato withstands handling and transport far better than red ones. That's the reason the newer vine ripened tomatoes at the store are so expensive, they have a high spoilage rate.

How to turn a green tomato red? Their fogged with xylene gas to turn them red from green, but their still green in taste. Sometimes if you look closely inside at one of these plastic tomatoes, you'll see flecks of green.

Answer 4

They're picked long before they're ripe, "gassed" (to make them turn red) and sold. They're usually rather tough and flavorless. I don't generally buy tomatoes from the grocery store (esp. during the winter) unless I have to. I wait until tomatoes are in season and buy them at my local farmers market. God I wish I had room for a garden!! I remember growing up we had a garden. Nothing better than picking a tomato, warm from the sun, brushing the dirt off and eating it--tomato juice and seeds running down your chin and all. Shelling peas from the pod and eating them raw. Wow. Miss those days terribly!

Answer 5

Because you are buying tomatoes wrapped in plastic!

Try buying Roma tomatoes, they are very flavorful.
Beefsteaks taste awful.

Answer 6

It's because they are picked while green, stored in a warehouse, and "ripened" by exposing them to a gas (carbon dioxide, I think). Tomatoes you grow yourself and ripen on the vine have significantly higher amounts of Vitamin C than gas-ripened ones.

Answer 7

Because they are picked before they are ripe so they will survive shipping and then not spoil too early in the store. Also, lots of growers raise tomotoes indoors and I think that afftectsthe taste/qualiiy. It's just one of those areas that you can't duplicate as well as growing them naturally with sunshine.

Answer 8

ive never tasted an awful tomato..well..not a store bought one anyway...ive tasted awful ones in subway sandwhiches. :( lol...
but i agree that fresh tomatos..not store bought..are much better. maybe you should start going to a farmers market or something to get your tomatos.

Answer 9

They are picked green and ripen on the way to the store. either that or they green house tomatoes.
The best ones are the ones you get out of your back yard garden right off the vine.

Answer 10

Because you think they are ripe and eat them immediately instead of waiting with them on a shelf (not in the frig) until they soften some and develop their final flavor.