Tomatoes are often purchased weekly by households, especially in the summer, and used in salads or to make tomato sauce.

Many people keep tomatoes in their original packaging, in the fridge, but this isn’t often recommended.

Tomatoes contain an enzyme that breaks down cell membranes when exposed to cold temperatures, which can result in mushy and flavourless fruit.

They can also absorb odours from other foods in the fridge, which can further degrade their quality.

Luckily, after researching different storage methods, I decided to try one to see how long the tomatoes would last.

Emma, a cook and founder of Kitchen Mason, said: “The best place to store tomatoes is on your kitchen worktop at room temperature but you should “keep them away from your oven, or any other heat source” for the best results.

Once purchased from the supermarket, I took the tomatoes out of their original packaging and placed two of them in a bowl.

I only placed two in the bowl to allow for ventilation, which can help keep them fresher for longer.

It’s often recommended to remove the vines and stems as they can draw moisture away from the fruit, but I decided to leave them on to see if they would deteriorate faster.

The weather was fairly warm so I expected the fruit to go off very quickly, but to my surprise, they didn’t. In fact, they lasted so much longer than I first thought.

Keeping them out of sunlight was definitely a huge factor, as well as keeping them in a cool location, away from the heat.

I kept checking them every few days to make sure they weren’t turning brown or mushy, and they stayed fresh for one month.

After the month, it was clear to see the stems and vines were struggling and had slightly shrivelled up, but the tomatoes were still fresh and juicy.

I was so surprised to see how such a simple storage technique could make the fruit last for so long, and it’s free since as all you need is a bowl.

Some experts recommend a flat plate to allow even more ventilation, but a bowl worked fine for me.

This is a great storage hack for anyone who has a huge supply of fruit when growing it at home.

The fruit can also be stored in a paper bag or if you do want them to not ripen so fast, place them in the fridge.

However, make sure to bring them up to room temperature before eating to try and restore that great flavour.