Culture
Grocery Store Tomatoes Don't Have to Taste Bad
Scientists are developing processing methods that would retain more of the fruits’ flavor.
Grocery store tomatoes and their freshly picked counterparts tend to taste like two different species. The latter are juicy and sweet; the former mealy, bland, and indistinguishable from cardboard. Your best bet, taste-wise, is probably to grow your own tomatoes or buy them at a farmers’ market. But for many city dwellers, that simply isn’t practical—and sometimes, seasonality be damned, you just want to have a caprese salad in December.
Now scientists are working to close this flavor gap. According to a new study presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, the key to better-tasting tomatoes could be as easy as “just add hot water.”