Leftover Salad Caprese - Fridge or not to Fridge

Yeah, leftovers, I couldn't believe it either:

My homegrown (and mostly ignored except for picking the fruit) Rutgers tomatoes, basil and snow-white mozz from the market, salt, pepper, and a couple non-traditional things (a few slivers of red onion, a tiny splash of balsamic to make up for the slight underripeness of a couple of fruit, and a matching amount of olive oil to move flavors around) were terrific at a labor day BBQ. We just had too much food. Aside from eating them as is, I plopped the stuff on my burger, on bread... and there was still a good deal left.

My first thought is, "Don't you dare refrigerate that, tomatoes will turn to tasteless mush!" My second thought is, "Soft cheese left out is a baaaaad idea."

First thought won out, and there was a bit of flavor loss, but still terrific as lunch today. What Would Jeebus Do if, Jeebus were a foodie?

Personally, when faced the the same situation, I would fridge it.

Then take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before eatting to take the chill off the tomatoes.

That's how I handled the situation last weekend. Worked well enough.

JoelF wrote:My first thought is, "Don't you dare refrigerate that, tomatoes will turn to tasteless mush!" My second thought is, "Soft cheese left out is a baaaaad idea."

Cut tomatoes go moldy very fast at room temp.

Food-safety rule of thumb for most prepared food (i.e. altered from its original state by cutting, cooking, mixing etc.): Two hours at room temperature.

That's cumulative, so if you have it out on the dinner table for an hour, then refrigerate, you only get another hour the next time.