"Vine Ripened" Tomatoes?

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

Only buy them if they taste better than other tomatoes in the store.
Theoretically, they're fully ripened on the vine. The ones I buy *do* taste
better than other tomatoes, especially in winter. Whether that's true at
your store depends on too many factors to state a rule about it. Here
(Wegman's, western NY), there's a greenhouse operation that grows these
tomatoes all winter, so they really are better than the half-ripe stuff from
California that tastes like water and cardboard.

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

Interesting question, in that carrots with tops-greenery left on in markets,
I've heard are more desirable than those already cut. Is that just to feed
the rabbits, or what?

Guessing, I'd say that they would stay fresh longer, but I know not the
scientific reason. Many people clean their produce when they get home from
the market, but I like to leave mine as is - perhaps instinctive.
Dee Dee

Steve Wertz <[email hidden]> dropped this news:1uynr6g0ymtac
[email hidden]: in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

I don't know about anyone else but I've never noticed any difference in
them. Now take into account I have bought the "vine-ripened" at the
supermarket. Supermarket tomatoes are among the worst tasting tomatoes I've
eaten.

Michael
--
Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their
food, and tyrannize their teachers.
- Socrates

to email: dog3 at charter dot net

"Dee Dee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

Interesting question, in that carrots with tops-greenery left on in
markets, I've heard are more desirable than those already cut. Is that
just to feed the rabbits, or what?

Guessing, I'd say that they would stay fresh longer, but I know not the
scientific reason. Many people clean their produce when they get home
from the market, but I like to leave mine as is - perhaps instinctive.
Dee Dee

Leaving the greens and stems on certainly adds to the weight of what you're
buying.

Steve Wertz said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster
tomatoes on the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just
marketing BS? I mean - all tomatoes are vine-ripened
to some extent.

For at least the past year - but maybe longer - most of the
stores in my area have taken to calling them "tomatoes
on the vine" (or something like that), dropping the word
"ripened". I buy them sometimes when local tomatoes
aren't available, but not often. They're a compromise.

Steve Wertz said:

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

It can be an indicator as to how recently it was
harvested. Usually, the tomatoes spontaneously
separate from the vine after a few days.
If you cut the tomato off the vine, the calyx
will remain attached longer.

Also, the additional labor handling it in this
form may indicate more care was taken in other
aspects of its production.

That said, I've had vine-ripened tomatoes that
looked really good -- very very red and perfect
-- that tasted no better than run-of-the-mill
tomatoes.

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

I think they just do that in the stores so you'll know they were in fact
left on the vine and not picked and left out to ripen somewhere, anywhere.

If you are growing them and you have some tomatoes left on the vine when it
is close to getting a possible frost, you can cut off the vine and hang it
somewhere in your house that is somewhat warmer than outside. Like the
garage. There, they may or may not ripen. I believe leaving them on the
vine is merely a way of keeping them from possibly getting crushed. And
they will keep for quite a while that way. I remember reading that in a
book I had about tomatoes.

Julie Bove said:

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

I think they just do that in the stores so you'll know they were in fact
left on the vine and not picked and left out to ripen somewhere, anywhere.

???

How do you know that the cluster was not cut while green and also firm,
making them easier to handle, placed in their trays, shipped across the
country and then gassed with ethylene while in some regional warehouse
to ripen them before shipping them to the store?

Obviously if the say "vine ripened" this shouldn't be the case, but as
someone else noted in many stores the "ripened" wording has disappeared
and they are marketed as "on the vine".

Quoted message said:

If you are growing them and you have some tomatoes left on the vine when it
is close to getting a possible frost, you can cut off the vine and hang it
somewhere in your house that is somewhat warmer than outside. Like the
garage. There, they may or may not ripen. I believe leaving them on the
vine is merely a way of keeping them from possibly getting crushed. And
they will keep for quite a while that way. I remember reading that in a
book I had about tomatoes.

They usually say to put them in a paper bag, which helps to concentrate
the naturally produced ethylene gas and help them ripen.

As for the quality, most of the time the on the vine tomatoes do appear
nicer than the other options in the store. I've not compared them side
by side for taste, but certainly they will be more appealing visually in
non cooked applications.

Pete C. said:

Julie Bove said:

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

Quoted message said:

I think they just do that in the stores so you'll know they were in fact
left on the vine and not picked and left out to ripen somewhere, anywhere.

???

How do you know that the cluster was not cut while green and also firm,
making them easier to handle, placed in their trays, shipped across the
country and then gassed with ethylene while in some regional warehouse
to ripen them before shipping them to the store?

Obviously if the say "vine ripened" this shouldn't be the case, but as
someone else noted in many stores the "ripened" wording has disappeared
and they are marketed as "on the vine".

You are correct, those are a specially hybridized tomato that has a
tendancy to remain attached to it's stems (stems, not vines) an
inordinately long time, and yes, you guessed correctly, they are
harvested green, shipped green, and then gassed to speed ripening....
the thing is those may be called vine ripened but unless they are
ripened on the living plant then they are just another cardboard style
stupidmarket tomato... vine ripened means ripened on the living plant,
not on a section of stem... calling those stems vines is nothing but
smarmy semantics. It's all hype, those stems make a lot of folks
think they are home grown... counldn't be further from the truth,
those mutants taste nothing like the tomatoes I pick off their plant
every day at their very peak of ripeness, in fact they are so ripe
it's best to eat them that day, or within two days they will begin to
rot and you'd need to pare out those rotted spots. I ate over five
pounds of luscious home growns today, all picked today, all picked
100pct fully ripe, still warm from the sun... eat yer hearts out.

And I have plenty more... too bad they don't ship well, so I gotta
suffer through eating them all myself, aww.

Sheldon

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

It could be psychological, but I think they have a better texture and
flavor so sometimes purchase them when they are a reasonable price.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

Michael 'Dog3 said:

Supermarket tomatoes are among the worst tasting tomatoes I've
eaten.

Yep. I usually avoid buying them except in extreme
circumstances. Cluster tomatoes were $.99/lb yesterday so I
bought some and was just as unimpressed as always.

The problem with most supermarket tomatoes are that they were
unripe when picked, IMO. I think the cluster/on-the-vine
tomatoes are that they're at least handled better. They *seem*
riper, too.

-sw

Mark Thorson said:

It can be an indicator as to how recently it was
harvested. Usually, the tomatoes spontaneously
separate from the vine after a few days.
If you cut the tomato off the vine, the calyx
will remain attached longer.

Also, the additional labor handling it in this
form may indicate more care was taken in other
aspects of its production.

That's the reason I bought these. These still had the *flowers*
attached to them - which is a first I've seen in a supermarket.
Dried flowers of course, but still attached to the bottom of the
tomato.

-sw

In article said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

It's done for two reasons:

1. You happily pay $5.00/kg for the stems as well as the fruit; and

2. It's easier for the checkout chics to recognise them and charge the
higher price such trusses command.

Talking to an Oz tomato breeder some years ago (and, of course, having
a good whinge to him about the quality of modern cultivars 🙂 I was
assured that one of the main problems here in Oz is that the farmers
(and supermarket buyers?) don't trust the breeders.

According to my informant, at least some modern varieties are bred to
maintain their billiard ball texture until damn near fully ripe. *If*
they're left on the vine until they're developing colour they will
have good flavour and still travel well. However, farmers (and maybe
supermarket buyers?) are very traditional and refuse to harvest (or
buy?) anything that's not still brilliant unadorned green.

Cheers, Phred.

--
[email hidden]

Phred said:

It's done for two reasons:

1. You happily pay $5.00/kg for the stems as well as the fruit; and

I don't think the weight of the stems is significant compared to
the weight of the tomato. If I thought it did, I'd just take
them off the stems before I bag them up - just like to do with
portabella mushrooms (and sometimes [censored]).

Quoted message said:

2. It's easier for the checkout chics to recognise them and charge the
higher price such trusses command.

Most of our stores have gone to the "price your own produce"
method. You weight them, punch in the code, and it spits out a
tag. That way the checkers can be brain dead.

-sw

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

I don't know about tomatoes in general, I did find that what they do in
Puglia works. They widely use cherry tomatoes, but not immediately. Even
people who grow their own hang them from nails in the cellar/garage etc. and
allow them to concentrate. When I came back from Puglia, I bought some
similar cherry tomatoes and let them rest for a week or so, and yes, they
were better. I suspect none of them were picked green, but at least
partially ripe. When frosts come, though, we'll all be rescuing branches of
tomatoes and hanging them to ripen.

--
http://www.judithgreenwood.com

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Pete C. said:

Julie Bove said:

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
> the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
> tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

Quoted message said:

> And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
> tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
> Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
> quality-wise?

Quoted message said:

I think they just do that in the stores so you'll know they were in fact
left on the vine and not picked and left out to ripen somewhere, anywhere.

???

How do you know that the cluster was not cut while green and also firm,
making them easier to handle, placed in their trays, shipped across the
country and then gassed with ethylene while in some regional warehouse
to ripen them before shipping them to the store?

Obviously if the say "vine ripened" this shouldn't be the case, but as
someone else noted in many stores the "ripened" wording has disappeared
and they are marketed as "on the vine".

You are correct, those are a specially hybridized tomato that has a
tendancy to remain attached to it's stems (stems, not vines) an
inordinately long time, and yes, you guessed correctly, they are
harvested green, shipped green, and then gassed to speed ripening....
the thing is those may be called vine ripened but unless they are
ripened on the living plant then they are just another cardboard style
stupidmarket tomato... vine ripened means ripened on the living plant,
not on a section of stem... calling those stems vines is nothing but
smarmy semantics. It's all hype, those stems make a lot of folks
think they are home grown... counldn't be further from the truth,
those mutants taste nothing like the tomatoes I pick off their plant
every day at their very peak of ripeness, in fact they are so ripe
it's best to eat them that day, or within two days they will begin to
rot and you'd need to pare out those rotted spots. I ate over five
pounds of luscious home growns today, all picked today, all picked
100pct fully ripe, still warm from the sun... eat yer hearts out.

And I have plenty more... too bad they don't ship well, so I gotta
suffer through eating them all myself, aww.

Sheldon

So true. This year I've been innundated with tomatoes since I had about
eight plants. They varried from cherry tomato to the normal variety and
even a couple little hybrids that happened because the plants were
fairly close together.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steve Wertz said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

-sw

It could be psychological, but I think they have a better texture and
flavor so sometimes purchase them when they are a reasonable price.

That's the problem, I've never seen them at a reasonable price. Usually
around $4 a pound.

In article said:

Phred said:

It's done for two reasons:

1. You happily pay $5.00/kg for the stems as well as the fruit; and

I don't think the weight of the stems is significant compared to
the weight of the tomato. If I thought it did, I'd just take
them off the stems before I bag them up - just like to do with
portabella mushrooms (and sometimes [censored]).

Quoted message said:

2. It's easier for the checkout chics to recognise them and charge the
higher price such trusses command.

Most of our stores have gone to the "price your own produce"

I'm glad to hear that there's someone left in the world who trusts you
yanks. ;-) I don't know that we Aussies are quite ready for that yet.
After all, many of us are descendant from convicts.

Quoted message said:

method. You weight them, punch in the code, and it spits out a
tag. That way the checkers can be brain dead.

You have Kiwis over there too? :-)

Cheers, Phred.

--
[email hidden]

Phred said:

In article said:

Is there really any benefit to buying those cluster tomatoes on
the vine? Isn't "vine-ripened" just marketing BS? I mean - all
tomatoes are vine-ripened to some extent.

And is there any benefit to leaving a portion of the vine on the
tomatoes when it's not attached to the rest of the plant?
Granted - it does look prettier, but is there any advantage
quality-wise?

It's done for two reasons:

1. You happily pay $5.00/kg for the stems as well as the fruit; and

I don't, I pull them off the stem before I buy them.

Quoted message said:

2. It's easier for the checkout chics to recognise them and charge the
higher price such trusses command.

Here they all have those damned little stickers on them so
not a problem. (I hate those suckers!)

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]