This time of year all conversations lead to the ultimate fall gardening question: what should I do with all of my green tomatoes? That’s easy; compost them. (Did I hear a collective gasp?) Yep, the time is ripe to let go of a fruit we enjoyed all summer when it was at its best for in October its flavor and potential are on life support.
The first person who says fry up some green tomatoes, I’ll doubt has ever made them more than once. The fried green tomato in my book is a merely a vehicle for bacon fat, breading, salt and tartar sauce. (You know I’m right.) In my recipe for fried green tomatoes, I substitute halibut for the green tomatoes. Some say make chutney. And I say that will be a condiment relegated to lining your pantry until next census is taken. I know these are harsh truths, but it’s time someone fessed up.
I’m not here to malign the green tomato; I’m just here to say it’s time to let go, to honor its summer siblings and what we had. Accept that the little (and large) green guys are going to rot on the vine and that it’s okay. It’s time for a little closure. Our delicious nightshades served us well the last three months in salsas, soups, salads and sandwiches, and their memory lives on in some home-canned toms and savory ketchup. I’ve moved on. We should all move on. Hey, anyone got a recipe for winter squash?
Boz concurs; these tomatoes are well past their salad days.
What I was blogging about a year ago: Peach Jam: A Recipe for Preserving Summer
26 responses so far ↓
1 Jill // Oct 24, 2009 at 7:32 pm
While I am somewhat scandalized by this post, I know you are speaking truths. I like the attitude of gratitude toward summer’s shining beauties. Onward!
2 ellen // Oct 25, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Tom, if you get delicata squash on the West Coast, you can enjoy them on a salad with mesclun, sauteed shallots, spiced pecans and a white balsamic vinaigrette. Or simply roast the rings of squash and take them to work announcing that you’ve brought “donuts” and watching everyone’s faces first as they see them and then as they taste the delicious rings of nature’s sweetness…
3 Tom // Oct 25, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Nice tip Ellen, let the squash season begin!
4 renae // Oct 25, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Bring o n the winter squash! Personally, I love it roasted with olive oil and sea salt, but I have made an awesome squash soup– recipe via epicurious.com
5 Barb // Oct 25, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Whew! I am happy to see someone speak the truth. Our dogs won’t even eat the tomatoes that we left out there- they loved sneaking into the garden and eating the sunny cherry tomatoes!
6 Elizabeth // Oct 26, 2009 at 4:21 am
I beg to differ on this one little topic–green tomato chutney. Add raisins and brown sugar and a bunch of vinegar and spices with funny names like fenugreek and voila–jam for rice. What’s wrong with THAT, now, huh??
7 brion // Oct 26, 2009 at 1:38 pm
All those greens will jump start the thermophilic phase of your compost pile! If you lean close you should be able to hear the bacteria partying or at least feel the heat they are generating munching on your dry brown leaves.
8 Tom // Oct 26, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I don’t Elizabeth, perhaps if I had a jar of your green tomato chutney at my disposal, I’d be willing to concede.
And brion…thermophilic? … a couple misplaced vowels and we could be in trouble here.
9 Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener // Oct 31, 2009 at 1:31 am
by the end of the season, yeah, it’s tomato fatigue. Even the chicken ignore them.
lovely dahlias, though….
10 Sue // Oct 31, 2009 at 1:33 am
This blog has made me feel so less guilty about tossing my tomato plants into the compost, along with all those green tomatoes which are clinging to the branches! Thank you Tom!!! I’ve been released!
11 Sarah Schatz - menu planners for limited diets // Nov 4, 2009 at 6:07 pm
A lot of our unripe (large cherry) tomatoes fell off the vine when it got very cold a few weeks ago. I picked them off the ground and brought them inside. The are ripening by being inside and are tasting great. I made tomato sauce out of them this week. Some of them are spoiling but we’re composting those ones.
My mom’s mom used to bring them in still on the plant and then hang them in the cellar. They ripen this way too, but you can just put them in a colander like I did.
I am sure they make good compost, but why not ripen them inside if you can? Sarah
12 Kitchen Butterfly // Nov 21, 2009 at 9:14 pm
13 Tom // Nov 22, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Okay Kitchen Butterfly, do let me know when that green tomato chutney gets eaten.
14 Wendy // Dec 1, 2009 at 5:54 am
Long live fried green tomatoes! I would wager you’ve never had one cooked properly. I love them, bacon grease or not — crunchy, tart, salty, yumminess. Next year save them all for me…
15 tom | tall clover farm // Dec 1, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Wendy, my diabolical plan is working…I’m all too eager to try fried green tomatoes done right. Perhaps a lesson in making them for this unappreciative rube? I’ve got the bacon grease (on demand), a big kitchen, heaps of green toms and a hankering to learn.
16 Patrick // Jun 6, 2010 at 7:07 pm
I’ve eaten green tomato pie & it was really good! It’s taste was somewhere between apple and mincemeat…and don’t roll your eyes at the mention of mincemeat ‘cuz I’m not talking gross grocery store jarred mincemeat! REAL mincemeat has…yes, MEAT in it; preferably venison. Not high on the “healthy” list, but to die for! But that’s a whole different story.
17 Tom // Jun 6, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Alright Patrick, I will heed your advice and give the green tomato pie a try, expect a post several months from now. (My tomatoes are off to a slow start.) And as for mincemeat…umm, I’m with you, love the stuff.
18 Patrick // Jun 6, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Speaking of winter squash, I’ve grown an heirloom variety called Adapazari that is shaped like Cinderella’s pumpkin & it makes very good pies. The seeds have been shared on GardenWeb.
19 Tom // Jun 7, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Patrick, I’d plant that squash variety just to say the name. I’ll check it out. Thanks for the tip.
20 Nina // Jul 3, 2010 at 8:15 pm
There was a great green tomato soup we found for thick matchsticks of bavarian ham that we used our huge October crop of Juliets in… we had to pick them all since we moved out of the property the end of September. A real “foodie” dish that was also low in bad carbs & bad fats. We had over 6 gallons of Juliets… it froze well!
21 Tom // Jul 4, 2010 at 12:13 am
Thanks Nina, I’ll start looking for the recipe, because I think after this cool summer, all I’m going to have to work with is green tomatoes.
22 TJ // Oct 4, 2010 at 1:58 am
Another solution: send them to me. I’ll freeze some green tomato mincemeat (the recipe’s in Joy of Cooking) for Christmas and put up enough green tomato pickles to keep my partner happy until spring.
23 Tom // Oct 4, 2010 at 2:51 pm
TJ, fast forward a year and I’m with you. In a year where red tomatoes are as rare as unicorns riding unicycles, I’m ready to attone for last year’s premature bravado. I am now embracing the green tomato, whether pickles on in mincemeat or chutney. Now off to Joy of Cooking to right my ways…
24 Slicin’ Up Some Chanterelle Mushroom Pie // Oct 25, 2010 at 12:40 pm
[...] one year ago: Green Tomatoes, I’ll Tell You What to Do With Them [...]
25 Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) // Apr 6, 2012 at 2:45 pm
I couldn’t disagree more! I love fried green tomatoes. Learned to make them when I was housesitting in TN. I love the tanginess of the green tomatoes! And green tomato relish is the best relish in the world to have with tourtiere. It is the best! I love it with fish cakes, sausages and all sorts of savory dishes! Sorry!!
26 Tom // Apr 6, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Ah Sarah, forgive me; my rant was written out of frustration. I had so many tomatoes at season’s end and all of them were unripe and green and crisp. I was pining for the reds ones that never were.
This coming summer I shall revisit the green tomato and embrace its culinary awesomeness. Feel free to share some recipes that will help this Tom love the green tom.
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