Although tomatoes should be ripened at room temperature to obtain the best flavour, the majority of consumers who preserve food at home store tomatoes in the fridge for 4-7 days and some people even keep tomatoes for up to 3 weeks in these conditions. In the present work the effects of storage time and potassium permanganate ethylene absorber sachets under refrigerated conditions (similar to those used by consumers who preserve tomatoes at home) on physicochemical properties, ascorbic acid content and antioxidant capacity of five tomato cultivars (Cherry, Cherry pera, Rama, Raf and Pera) were studied. After 25 days storage at 4±2 °C an increase in fruit pH was observed for the five cultivars without and with ethylene absorber sachets. The increase in pH was paralleled by a decrease in titratable acidity. The degradation of ascorbic acid during storage time with and without ethylene absorber sachets followed a first-order kinetic model. In general, the percent loss of ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity measured with TEAC and ORAC methods was significantly lower in tomatoes stored with ethylene absorber sachets as compared to tomatoes preserved without these. In addition, a positive correlation was found between ORAC and TEAC methods for the determination of antioxidant capacity in all tomato cultivars.