Using Green Tomatoes

10 years ago

Well, unfortunately, I'm sure many of us have a lot of green tomatoes to deal with this year.

What do you do with yours? I know there's the fried green tomatoes trick, but anything else?

allrecipes.com has a recipe for green tomato loaf which is almost identical to a zucchini loaf. Has anyone tried something like that, and is it good?

Can I use rock hard really green tomatoes? I've never really had enough green ones to bother with at the end of the year, so I've never had to know :)

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Comments (9)

north53 Z2b MB
10 years ago
I find that as long as the green tomatoes have progressed enough to have shiny skins, they will finish ripening and turn red. That's what's happening to mine, and it is happening quickly. The ones that are dull and matte looking don't ripen.
I've canned some, made salsa, oven dried some and eaten many. As soon as I have more ripe ones I plan to make some freezer sauce. And that will be it.
My mom used to make a green tomato relish that was very good, but we seem to have lost the recipe.
don555
10 years ago
I just pick the ones that have any trace of pink in them and put them inside in a paper bag to ripen up. I don't know if the bag hastens ripening or anything, but it does prevent them from drying out or shrinking like they might just left out in the open. They won't be as tasty as vine-ripened but will still beat store-bought.

All in all I'd have to say this was a fantastic tomato year. I started picking vine-ripened toms in late July, and I just picked the last of them and pulled out the last vines today.
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Slimy_Okra
10 years ago
The green ones that haven't reached full-size (for the cultivar) tend to be bitter. You'll want to balance the flavor with lemon juice or lime juice if you use them in recipes, for example, in salsa verde. Of course, true salsa verde is made with tomatillos and those have a flavour far superior to those of green tomatoes, but you gotta use what you have available :)
marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
10 years ago
I just let mine ripen inside. Not a big fan of green tomatoes.
marricgardens
10 years ago
I've tasted the green tomato relish and didn't care for it. My brother was here a few weeks ago and he made a sautÃÂ© with sliced green tomatoes, sliced onions, garlic and then added about 1/2c. water. Almost forgot, he did add sliced red tomato too. He let that steam for about 20 min. til tender. It was delicious! When I made it later I added chopped green pepper. Still good! This recipe made me rethink use of green tomatoes. Marg
mytime
10 years ago
I've made green tomato relish, and my family loved it...pretty much just like pickle relish. The trick would be finding a recipe with the seasonings you like in it. Recipes abound on the internet. I also sautÃÂ© them regularly with steak, or to put in omelets. I've chopped them up and used them in a cooked salsa and in homemade spaghetti sauce, both using ripe tomatoes along with the green.
FrozeBudd_z3/4
10 years ago
We've also made green tomato relish that everyone really likes and also mincemeat ... now, yes, I know that mincemeat is not for everyone, some downright hate the stuff, though we like it and it's a good way to use up green tomatoes, though we don't add the suet.

Terrance
FrozeBudd_z3/4
10 years ago
Also have made both green and red tomato chutney, these are a good replacement for ketchup and relish and go so very well with most types of meat. The pantry has been very well stocked after an excellent growing season.
donna_in_sask
10 years ago
I brought all my tomatoes in several weeks ago. I don't know why I bother with the ones that are still really green...they never taste as good as ones that have at least a bit of colour-break. I don't like cooking with green tomatoes, for me, these tomatoes would do more good in my compost bin.