Green Tomatoes, what to do with you?

You may be familiar with the iconic film, "Fried Green Tomatoes" with an all-star female cast. One of the ways the characters connect is by making and eating fried green tomatoes, a heart warming and belly warming dish.

But that's not all you can do with a green tomato in your midst. You can add them to savory bakes - like muffins! Or make a green tomato gratin or a salsa verde. You can pickle them! Or eat them straight up on toast with salt, pepper, and a creamy cheese.

If you're verrrrry patient, you can also place the tomato on your counter and watch as it slowly ripens. It won't taste as good as tomatoes picked ripe from the vine, but it's pretty to notice the colors changing.

Keeping your tomatoes on the kitchen counter is the best way to store your tomatoes. Never put tomatoes in the fridge! They will just start to shrivel and decompose. It also compromises the incredible flavor of these fresh gems. Keep on the counter out of direct sunlight, preferably in the AC.

Why do we pick green tomatoes? Green tomatoes are harvested when tomato plants are taking a long time to produce red fruit. Sometimes plants get overwhelmed by the amount of fruit they have on their branches and do not have enough resources to direct enough energy to each fruit. By reducing the number of fruit on the plant, the plant can more easily allocate energy and resources to the remaining fruit. It's basically the same as pruning a fruit tree... if you take off some, the tree will grow stronger and produce better quality fruit.

Here are some recipe links. Happy cooking!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Cornmeal Muffins with Green Tomatoes

Salsa Verde

Green Tomato Gratin

Swiss Chard and Green Tomato Gratin