Green Tomatoes

susan belsinger, contributor

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Green tomatoes ready to be picked. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.

Susan Belsinger

Caged tomatoes waiting to be released!

Just-harvested green tomatoes in varying stages of ripening.

Besides fried green tomatoes, these make wonderful salsa, relish and chutney, or wrap them to ripen slowly.

Green tomatoes ready to be picked. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.

Photo: Susan Belsinger

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Forecasts of frost send gardeners across the nation scampering to gather what is left on the tomato vines and to pick the last of the chile peppers. Although fried green tomatoes are usually prepared in the summer months when tomatoes are in the pre-ripening stage, fall is a great time to enjoy the last of the summer crop.

With the last of the tomato harvest, I leave my green tomatoes on the back porch for awhile and let the ones in the ripening stages turn orange and red and savor the last garden-ripe tomatoes of the season on sandwiches and salads.

Really firm, far-from ripe green tomatoes can be wrapped in newspaper and left to ripen slowly in a cool place. I do this in the coldroom in my basement—however one needs to think about them every now and then—and check them for ripeness. For me, the proverbial cliché, out-of-sight, out-of-mind can result in rotten tomatoes. So be diligent and check them at least once a week.

I use the green tomatoes to make green tomato salsa and they make a great relish or chutney. I quite enjoy fried green tomatoes, although I don’t eat fried foods very often. There are as many versions of this classic Southern specialty as they have for pimento cheese—mine is made crunchy with cornmeal in the coating. See Fried Green Tomatoes for a mouthwatering recipe.
 

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