The Absolute Best Time To Harvest Tomatoes For Perfect Fruit

Whether you're new to growing tomatoes in your garden or have been cultivating the juicy fruit for summers on end, you probably have heard that tomatoes are best harvested when "vine ripe." But what, exactly, that means isn't always so clear — and your tomatoes are probably ready to be picked earlier than you think. Contrary to popular belief, the absolute best time to harvest tomatoes is before they've reached complete redness, at what's called the "breaker stage" of development. The breaker stage occurs once the tomato is at full maturity, and the skin's color is mostly still green with a reddish-pink color (from the pigment lycopene) on the side of the fruit opposite to the stem.

At this point, the longer tomatoes are left on the vine, the more vulnerable they become to pests or other risks like excess heat, sun, and other extreme weather conditions. Fruit left on the vine until fully red often experiences cracking or splitting of the skin due to high moisture content. The tomato itself no longer needs the plant for nutrients after the breaker stage. So, gardening experts recommend picking tomatoes while they are still green and developing their redness, and letting them ripen off the vine.

Aside from harvest, how you store and cook the tomatoes you've picked can preserve and enhance their natural flavors and juiciness. Excess heat and cold can prevent tomatoes from ripening properly once pulled from the vine at the breaker stage. To ripen them, store your tomatoes in a cool, dry place on the kitchen counter until they have reached their red stage, when they should have optimal juiciness, sweetness, and acidity. It's important to note, ripening time can vary based on the tomato variety and size. So, once picked, you can accelerate the process by placing the tomatoes in a paper bag, which increases the fruit's exposure to ethylene gas, a key factor in ripening.

Once they are ripe, never place your tomatoes in the fridge as the cold storage temperatures will mute their flavor and make them mushy. From there, use the fruit within a couple of days for best freshness and to avoid spoilage. Luckily, there's no shortage of uses for homegrown tomatoes picked from the vine and allowed to ripen. Feature the fruit in a multitude of tasty tomato recipes, such as roasted tomato and chipotle cream pasta, artichoke tomato pesto flatbread, or charred tomato salsa. You can always enjoy fresh, ripened tomatoes plain, too, and make them even more delicious with a sprinkle of salt or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Cue that perfect backyard summer picnic feeling.