no bacon fat , you can always buy lard or shortening

any good butcher will sell you pig fat if you ask.

I meant, how do you know which tomato is best? Color? Feel?

I already had bacon drippings on hand. I'm Southern 😉 it's a Miss Daisy recipe. That part, I did like.

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Some tomatoes are green as in that's their ripe color. They wouldn't work if they were truly ripe. In order to be firm enough, the tomato has to be under ripe. Under ripe tomatoes have a nice texture, but little flavor. You get that from the seasoning and frying. Never chill underripe tomatoes. They'll lose whatever flavor they have and go mealy. It takes awhile to go mealy.

(I'm so used to ripe tomatoes that it took a lot of talk here about never chilling tomatoes and some research into why, and the experience that the same package tomatoes at TJ's had no flavor and lots when they were bought elsewhere, that I finally figured out TJ's was keeping them too cold.)

So... Is your under ripe tomato flavorless because it's not ripe? Or had it been chilled? I always think of fried green tomatoes as being made with garden tomatoes rather than bought.

You can tell a ripe tomato by its yielding but not squishy feel in the hand and the lovely scent. Often under ripe, over firm tomatoes still smell good, at least when they're red, orange or yellow, if not that rich sunshiny scent. It's the only way I know of to choose a tasty tomato, and it's harder if it's green.

Good luck!

Thank you.

They were both homegrown, my neighbor's and mine. On purpose. Because I wanted to experiment and see which level is the correct one. It did turn out like I thought, so I think there probably is a happy medium in there somewhere.

I guess I just have to try again sometime. We still have a month ago in our growing season, so I'm sure I have more chances.

Oh, well that's fun! Why not just pick a few small ones of different shades/feel/smell and fry 'em up as an experiment?

That's my plan

😉

We find fried green tomatoes have much more flavor once they've received some fairly cool temperatures for a few days, bringing out their tartness.

Just having a little fun making "instant" "fried" green tomatoes.

Sliced green tomatoes on a non-stick waffle iron, sprinkle on the tomato slices plenty of seasoning and cook.

dcarch

Following....

Interesting thread. I tried these for the first time last year. Didn't like them. Too tart. Didn't like the green tomato salsa either.

I concurr....no green at all on the tomato....they should be very sour almost likea fried pickle. I just wash slice, dredge in flour, fry and salt and pepper. Sometimes I will flour, egg, flour before If ry but mostly just flour....no corn meal, don't like the crunch.And I fry in oil and butter....and I can make myself sick on them!!

At the end of the season, the night before a killing frost, even those small hard golf balls are delicious fried.

I dont like them. But, years ago my employer asked me to participate in a charity fund raiser. Instead of a bake sale they wanted to sell lunches. OK. I said. I got a ton a green tomatoes from my sister. I set up my little stand with a pot of oil, a griddle, a toaster, and a cooler. What was I selling? Fried green tomato, bacon, and pimento cheese sandwiches of course. On toasted sourdough, made and donated to me by a friendly,fluffy truck driver. For mine, I dipped them in buttermilk seasoned with Cajun seasoning, then in to flour seasoned with the same, then back into the buttermilk then back into the flour, then fried. I sold out in 30 minutes, made the most out of all the stands for charity, and people still talk about it 10 years later. I don't get it. I would much rather eat a fried pickle dipped in ranch. But to each their own.

IMPE, green tomatoes aren't tart at all until there's some red starting to show.

And I use cornmeal too - & extra virgin olive oil to saute the slices. If you season the cornmeal well, they shouldn't be tasteless.

Amylou, I could see them as part of a trio of flavors, like with scrambled eggs or on a sandwich. But for us, fried plain on the side with a fried egg and toast, for breakfast, was just not a hit. I actually love fried RIPE tomatoes, I discovered them when making tomato quiche. It's a way to dry them out a little before adding to the quiche so it doesn't get soggy. But they are also fab to eat right out of the pan . . .

I tried making green tomato chutney and also mock apple pie with green tomatoes. None of those were all that great, IMHO.

"------ And I use cornmeal too - & extra virgin olive oil to saute the slices. If you season the cornmeal well, they shouldn't be tasteless.---"

We all sometimes take quick short cuts. I use crushed Stove Top stuffing.

dcarch

I guess what I'm after is a stronger "tomato flavor". Mine tasted just fine.

I tried to wait until the last second on the next. Green, then Ida came through, and a pink blush on one side.... Nope. Has to be fully green. I did see what it looked like the day before, so that's what I'll aim for next time.

I do imagine that different varieties may taste differently when green...