The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends keeping fresh tomatoes on the counter or in the pantry for best taste.
Keep unripe tomatoes at room temperature until they're ripe and ready to eat. Depending on when you'll consume them, put them in the fridge when they're ripe.
Store them on the counter or in the pantry at room temperature (55 degrees or above) until they're red to ripen. However, ketchup may need refrigeration.
The refrigerator should not be used for unripe tomatoes. The Florida Tomato Committee reports that below 55 degrees,
Tomatoes cease producing the enzyme that gives them taste. Permanent "off" switch.
Cold temperatures can damage tomato taste and enlarge tomato water. This expansion makes it mealy when you bite into it, but you can't see it.
Stem-up or stem-down tomatoes? Florida Tomato Committee recommends stem-up. The tomato's "shoulders"—its softest part—will bruise if left on.
The other side claims that keeping tomatoes stem side down prevents them from drying out because moisture escapes through the sliced stem. You decide.
Take notice of where you place your tomatoes. Keep fruits and vegetables separate if you have other produce on your counter.
You might think "Should tomatoes be refrigerated?" is always no. It's not. Tomatoes taste best when ripened at room temperature and maintained at room temperature until eaten.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends storing tomatoes at room temperature until ripe and then for seven days without vinegar.
Once sliced, tomatoes should be eaten immediately. To avoid moisture loss, carefully wrap sliced or chopped tomatoes with plastic wrap. They'll last two days in the fridge.
To recap: Fresh tomatoes on the counter? Most often. Refrigerate tomatoes? If they're ripe, yes. Do tomatoes freeze? You can, however thawing will affect the texture.