Tomato anatomy. The fruit wall is especially
rich in sugars, amino acids, and aroma
molecules, the jelly in sugarbalancing acids.
Fresh tomatoes readily cook down to a
smooth puree, but many canned tomatoes
don’t. Canners frequently add calcium salts to
firm the cell walls and keep the pieces intact,
and this can interfere with their disintegration
during cooking. If you want to make a fine-
textured dish from canned tomatoes, check the
labels and buy a brand that doesn’t list
calcium among its ingredients.
Storage Tomatoes came originally from a
warm climate, and should be stored at room
temperature. Their fresh flavor readily suffers
from refrigeration. Tomatoes at the mature-
green stage are especially sensitive to chilling
at temperatures below about 55ºF/13ºC, and
suffer damage to their membranes that results
in minimal flavor development, blotchy
coloration, and a soft, mealy texture when