Green tomatoes
 

Hopefully this thread is not a repeat. Green tomatoes often go to waste because folks don't know what to do with them. Maybe this thread can educate then.

If I have time at the end of the season before the tomatoes are frosted hard enough to ruin them, I bring them all inside. I process the ripe ones, windowsill the semi-ripe ones and the green ones go into storage. To store green tomatoes I make sure they are clean and dry. Then wrap them securely in newspaper as you would a glass for storage. Put them up all together in a box, not too deep as to cause pressure and store in a dark cool place. If they were nicely green and in good shape they will ripen slowly and you may be eating them into winter.

I have newly discovered the joy of salsa made with green tomatoes. It's great. I don't know what else they are good for although I've heard some rave about fried green tomatoes.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

I personally hate fried green tomatoes. Don't know that I'd rather go hungry; but it's close. :wink:

So, I'm glad for the heads up about salsa. And even happier to hear that I can store green tomatoes and that they'll eventually ripen.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Just last night I made some green tomato pickles. I didn't make enough to can, just to keep in the refrigerator. I used Emeril's recipe:

1 1/2 quarts of green tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 onions sliced
1 red bell pepper chopped
kosher salt
2 cups white or cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

In non reactive bowl, layer tomatoes with onion and pepper, sprinkling salt over each layer. Let stand a room temp for 6 hours. Drain and rinse.
In large non reactive pan or pot, combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Cool until syrup has reduced by about 1/3. Then add drained vegetables and cook until tender and liquid is reduced to a thick syrup.
Emeril suggests 1 1/2 hours, but I found 45 minutes to be just about right.
Allow tomatoes to cool in cooking liquid and transfer to non reactive containers and cover with cooking liquid. Refrigerate several days before using. (I didn't wait. Just had an incredible chicken sandwich topped with mayo and green tomato pickles....yum!) Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.

You can play with the seasonings if you want. I added a bit of cayenne pepper for a little punch, some ajwain seeds (Indian spice sort of like celery seed), and whole mustard seeds.
Just make sure to cook in a stainless steel, ceramic, or other pan that won't react to the acid in the vinegar, and be careful to stir with plastic, wood, or stainless. Otherwise, the pickles will take on a nasty metallic taste.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

All I do with them is I put em all in big paper grocery bags, seal the bags as best I can. There they will ripen in a matter of days. works like a charm. Then I Process them to whatever I need. Just done 10 pints of salsa, and 7 qts of stewed toms..goooood stuff PeeWee

Re: Green tomatoes
 

I canned 8 quarts of salsa yesterday. I like it hot but it is hard on my system nowdays if I put too many hot peppers in it. I have discovered that I can eat spicy hot food with no ill effects if I drink some psyllium husk fiber before eating. The fiber seems to protect my system from the capsicum.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Good thread, thanks all!

Presenting my grandma Lizzie Mae's "Chow-Chow" (green tomato sweet-sour-spicy relish) recipe (from Tennessee no less!), a family favorite:

10 lbs green tomatoes
4 med.-lg. firm cabbages
8 bell peppers (some red if desired)
4 hot yellow peppers

To prepare the veggies, slice them as needed and run them through a KitchenAid mixer with chopper attachment (coarse plate), or equivalent. Do the peppers last (and use gloves!). Place the chopped veggies into a strainer to drain.
After draining, place the chopped veggies in a LARGE stainless or enameled kettle (never aluminum), and add:

1/3 cup salt
6 cups sugar
7 cups apple cider vinegar
3/4 box of pickling spice (1.25 oz. box)

Cook over medium heat (275 deg.F-300 deg.F), until veggies change color and a good rolling boil is achieved.

Put up in hot sterilized jars. Recipe makes approx. 24 pints.
Optional: add 1 lb. chopped red apples (with peel left on).
Adjust to your own taste, use other peppers, etc.

(It's good enough to eat by itself!)

R.:wavey:

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Just got our greenhouse tomatoes in the planters the other day....vine ripened ones from December thru March.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

I've never had good luck growing tomatoes in pots--even in big pots like yours. For me, they get root bound, are hard to water adequately, and produce small, substandard fruit prone to blossom end rot. What's your secret, Tn...Andy? I'd love to know how you make this work for you. For me, peppers in pots? Yes, good results. Tomatoes? Not so much. Is it related to variety? I've had back luck with Romas in pots.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Honestly, Merlin.....this is an experiment. We just completed the little greenhouse this past winter and didn't raise but one tomato...a Roma that was already in a pot in the house from the previous year. These are a special variety that are supposed to be for greenhouse growing ( some seed my wife found ), so we'll have to see how it goes.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

This works well if you want to ripen them quick. The method of wrapping them in newspaper is intended to slow down the process enabling you to eat them after the season is over.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

They're predicting a hard freeze here in NW Indiana tonight. So, I pulled all the tomato plants out of the garden this afternoon. Most of the fruit still on the plants was semi-ripe or green. I'm going to do the newspaper wrapping thing on the green ones and put them in the basement. I hope woodman knows what he's talking about. I'll let ya'll know.:biggrin:

Re: Green tomatoes
 

I've read somewhere that putting green tomatoes together with a ripe banana will help the tomatoes ripen, due to the gas that the banana gives off. Indeed a swift google states that the bananas give off ethylene, which ripens the tomatoes.

Re: Green tomatoes
 

I'm sure what you say is true. But I'm not sure I want the green ones to ripen in a hurry. It would be nice to find some newly ripened tomatoes down in the basement a month or two from now :)

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Merlin, this year was the first year I've ever had a garden to grow my own food in. I've done a fair bit of voluntary work in organic farming before, so it was a total joy to have my own garden to dig in. Definitely a learning curve, and the tomatoes were probably the least successful of all (combination of not really having the climate for it, and not pruning them back enough, I think), but I've managed to squeeze a few green toms out of the plants anyway. We had by far the most success with squashes:

Attachment 80362

Re: Green tomatoes
 

Nice squash. I love summer squash fried in olive oil.