BS: Green Tomatoes

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Raedwulf
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 06:23 PM

Drat! Guest above was me, sorry... ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 06:21 PM

"Hello, Crow Sister. If the warm weather continues, remove some of the foliage from the tomato plants so that more sun shines on the green fruit. The fruit ripens because of warmth."

Nope. Almost completley wrong, I'm afraid. There is an optimum temperature for ripening tom's - either side of which it will slow or stop - but mostly it's down to ethylene. Greenhouses work, but neither warmth nor sunlight are significant factors (too much light, too, can damage your crop). It's still air that promotes ripening, since that doesn't disperse any ethylene being produced.

Unfortunately, still air, especially if the space is enclosed by e.g. too much foliage, also promotes botrytis (if I remember the name of the mold correctly), which is the stuff that turns tom's brown, and then grey & fuzzy, long ere they ripen. It's a bit of a bugger with outdoor tom's cos the damn stuff is widely distributed, worse luck. But the banana trick works. If my memory serves, most, if not all, ripening fruits will work, but bananas are particularly 'generous' catalysts!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 08:19 PM

Good movie tho.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: michaelr
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 08:14 PM

Fried green tomatoes are a terrible waste of potential red tomatoes.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Seayaker
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 07:02 PM

This is a recipe from my Grandmothers old scrapbook

10 lbs green tomatoes
2 lbs onions
1 lb cooking apples
2 lbs sugar
4 pints vinegar
1 lb raisins
1 lb sultanas
1 oz peppercorns
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons curry powder
2 cloves garlic

Chop toms, onions, and apples
Boil sugar in vinegar then add sultanas raisins and spices.
simmer for 5 mins. and then add rest of ingredients. Cook till thick.

I used this recipe a few years ago when I had loads of green toms from our local horticultural station. Was really good.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 04:20 PM

And you can use the leaves if you get caught short.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 01:42 PM

Great tip Sorcha, I have loadsa space to hang plants from beams in the outhouse!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Sorcha
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 11:42 AM

You can also pull the plant up by the roots and hang it upside down in a cool place where it won't freeze. Garage, cellar, etc. and the toms will continue to slowly ripen. We had fresh toms this way for Christmas dinner one year.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 11:13 AM

Thanks for the advice. My toms are *just* starting to 'blush'. Hopeful!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 06:20 AM

Blossom end rot and splitting tend to be irregular watering issues, Arnie. Of course, too much hot sun will dry out your greenhouse more quickly. A common symptom of too much hot sun is fruits with greenback - irregular colouring-up on ripening.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Arnie
Date: 07 Sep 10 - 05:34 AM

My toms (Moneymaker) here in Kent are in a greenhouse. Unfortunately I never got around to painting the windows with Coolglass whitener, so they suffered a bit in the sun. As a result, I've had to discard a few with blossom-end rot and split fruit, and one or two of the plants never reached their full height. However, a decent tomato crop overall and we started picking the red ones about a fortnight ago. At the moment there are still more green than red ones on the plants but this is fine as they'll be pickable for longer in the season. I've tried the banana trick on a couple of green toms that fell off the plant - they started reddening up the very next day so it obviously work.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Rumncoke
Date: 06 Sep 10 - 06:21 PM

'Stopping' the plants should have been done months ago for outdoor tomatoes.

Really, down here on the South coast our Summer has been so hot and dry that plants such as lavender have been deleriously happy and belted out their smell in the afternoon sun - enough to make me dizzy walking past a row of the plants.

Today has been torrential rain after high winds, but not at all cold - just the sort of weather to spoil all unprotected crops.

Anne

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Sep 10 - 06:05 AM

I agree about removing some foliage, but remove mostly the lower leaves. This improves ventilation around the plants, which don't like all that autumnal dampness we can get. But don't overdo it, as the leaves make the sugar that is translocated into the fruits to make them sweet. You should be "stopping" the plants by now by removing the tops - any new fuit forming now won't ripen. You want the plants putting all their energy into ripening the existing fruits.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 11:38 PM

Hello, Crow Sister. If the warm weather continues, remove some of the foliage from the tomato plants so that more sun shines on the green fruit. The fruit ripens because of warmth.

I have been growing tomatoes since 1978, and it's something I do every year.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: open mike
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 07:48 PM

here it is green tomato chutney
i posted lots of links to recipes
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=131681#2972618
this thread about green tomatoes is from 2005
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=85060#1574015

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: open mike
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 07:44 PM

i thought we had a thread about green tomato recipes jsut a while ago.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 02:40 PM

Opps... but you knew... "But, it WAS because of their recipe for pie crust."

Yeah VT, but I will have to at least wait for several peeps to buy the farm before I could even think about sharing it. >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 11:54 AM

I have an acrylic bowl with a big rounded lid and a few air holes that is designed for just this use. And as they began to ripen I put them on the windowsill to finish. I had tomatoes for months, they stayed in good shape and slowly ripened and tasted good, like real tomatoes.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 08:37 AM

Micca is right on the scientific way of ripening. They say not to keep your bananas near other fruit if you want to delay their ripening.

CrowSister - My Mom and others in family used the flour, egg/milk and bread crumb method. Fried in shortening or bacon fat. No seasoning though. They sprinkled cane sugar over the finished and sizzling hot tomatoes.

Gnu... not sharing secret recipes means they die out never to be enjoyed again. My dad had a wonderful recipe from his mother for dutch egg noodles (they were more like long thin dumplings when cooked) that he never shared. Now it is gone.

My mom had a recipe for sugar cookies made with orange zest from her mother. The cookies were the most wonderful flavour and consistency. That recipe is lost and my Mom cannot remember it. Also lost is the recipe for scotch lace cookies made with butterscotch pudding and oatmeal.   Breaks my heart.

Sounds like the document is a historical treasure. Please consider scanning your grandmother's recipes and placing the original documents in archive for future generations. Too many of these gems end up in the trash.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Micca
Date: 05 Sep 10 - 05:41 AM

No one seems to have mentioned that To Ripen Tomatos Indoors
1 Put them in a box or bowl with a transparent lid (cling film/Saranwrap will do) on a sunny (or at least sun facing) windowsill
2 include an apple or a banana in the box (this provides the small amount of Ethylene (ethene) that promotes and is necessary for Ripening.
and to quote another thread, Bobs your uncle!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 10:32 PM

My neighbor who gave me the jar was talking about chow chow, a relish that you could make with the green tomatoes but add cabbage if you ran out of tomatoes. And other veggies, I think. Sounds like a real science!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 07:36 PM

Ma Pere LeBlanc was a master baker. Me Mere was too, but she didn't carry the "title". In latter years, the family made small pies with "premixed" fillings of blueberry, apple and raison bought in 5 pound pails. Sounds like the modern mass produced garbage they sell now at the big grocery stores. But, it wasn't because of their recipe for pie crust. A pie crust that is delicious even if eaten alone. That is a recipe I cannot share. It will always remain a secret.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 06:33 PM

Gnu, Wow.
I understand the handwriting thing. So fine back then! I have no connection to older generations, in the approximate words of Conrad: they dead.

Have put Grammas Recipes thread in motion, hope to see you there!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 06:25 PM

I find this hard to believe. I waltzed right to it. It's on an OLD piece of paper in her handwriting. Now, I just have to get Mum to transcribe the writing I cannot decipher.

Many recipies start with "Grind X pounds of beef/pork...". They are old recipes. Some would have been written around 1910.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 05:55 PM

Excellent idea Sister... start one!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 05:53 PM

*smile* I knew I could rely on the Cat! I'll leave them out a bit longer then.. If they don't ripen then my fella has always had a fancy for 'green fried tomatoes', so maybe he'll get them this year?

Gnu, do post your Grammas recipe if you find it. Such things are precious and worth sharing. In fact do we have a thread for Grandma's recipes here?

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: gnu
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 05:46 PM

Chow (also called, chow-chow, although I don't know why). I have my grammas recipe somewhere. If I can find it, I'll post it. It's delicious. I am sure there are lots on the net.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 04:15 PM

Another excellent use for tomatoes pulled before their time is Green Tomato Pie (or tart, if you want to call it that).

Make it just as if they were green apples, for green apple pie. Wonderful!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 03:51 PM

I gave some green tomatoes to a friend earlier this summer and he entered a jar of it in the State Fair (up here in Dallas). I'm looking forward to hearing how they do.

Last year I wasted a lot of green tomatoes that didn't look like they'd ripen. I pulled the plants the night before a big frost and hoped they'd ripen on the vines, but instead they were attacked by mites. Those went in the compost and the dogs ended up eating them. :)

Now I would take those same tomatoes directly from the plants and let them ripen slowly in the house. The ones I did take in ripened gradually and tasted good. I had tomatoes all winter, actually. And a neighbor gave me a jar of her green tomato relish this spring, so I 1. knew how good it is and 2. have at least two people to give green tomatoes to if I end up with an overage. In exchange for a jar or two of relish, I think this exchange would work out just fine!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 03:14 PM

CrowSister, Slice the green tomatoes; place on papertowel, pat tops dry with another papertowel; place half to 1cup flour & 1 or 2 tblsps cornmeal in cake pan with salt, pepper & other desired spices stirred in; dredge tomato slices in seasoned flour; dip in egg wash, then dredge in bread crumbs(also seasoned); lay on rack temporarily to dry; fry in moderate amt of hot oil in skillet. Eat while still warm. Experiment with seasonings for flour dredge.

Also a delightful, tangy pickle relish can be made with the green tomatoes, but it requires a lot & other veggies(cabbage, green pepper, onions, etc). Tw

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 08:52 AM

I am now regretting that I never tried fried green tomatoes when they were made every summer in her childhood...

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 08:41 AM

"I'm a bit surprised after the long hot summer we have had here in the UK"

That has to be a joke, right Anne? It's been bloody awful. Cold, rainy and Bloody Awful here in the N.E. corner of the Midlands. Only managed to get me shorts on for about three days.

Oh for a summer like 1976 and 1977 again!

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Rumncoke
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 07:29 AM

If you can leave them on the plant, do, for the better flavour and texture and also any protection you can give them from buffeting winds and rain will help to maintain the quality.

Years ago now I got a lot of good tomatoes from some late plantings simply by using corugated plastic sheets and a few bits of wood to hold them together to make an arched cover with half sheets at the ends. The temperature around them was increased, the wind and rain kept off and the only downside was the watering.

I'm a bit surprised after the long hot summer we have had here in the UK - I'm in Poole, Dorset - that ripening is a problem.

I have been thinking I should start to grow more as soon as I have more time.

Anne

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Bobert
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 07:28 AM

Leave 'um where they are to ripen... IF you have a hard frost predicted then bring them in and ripen them in a window...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 05:38 AM

Are they indoors or out? Are you norf or sarf? Here in Cornwall I have to grow them in a greenhouse. I only grow cherry toms these days (always Sungold). By about late October the plants are getting knackered and ready for pulling but I shall still be getting a few red toms by then. Toms ripened indoors never taste much good raw but they cook up well and make good chutney. Leave 'em on the plants for as long as you can I reckon.

Subject: RE: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 04:51 AM

I was wondering that myself, CS. Exactly the same here. Hope some green-fingered gardener-type has the answer!

Subject: BS: Green Tomatoes
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 04 Sep 10 - 03:34 AM

When should I harvest my tomatoes? It's early September and the weather in the Uk where I am is pleasantly warm right now, but my tomatoes aren't ripe yet. Should I leave them on the plants or get them in & ripen indoors?