Help....tomatoes questions.....

[Kayelle]

OK guys, here's the deal. We have been growing tomatoes for the first time, and we have two plants full of green tomatoes. We will be on vacation for a month.
Will they be too ripe, ie falling of the vine in that amount of time? I'd hate for them to go to waste.
I'm considering picking them all now and frying up some green tomatoes if that's the case.
Can somebody tell me secrets of how to do "fried green tomatoes"? I know we have some fabulous southern cooks here.

Thanks!!

 

[BreezyCooking]

To be honest, unless you're going to have someone around who'll be watering them for you, they'll probably be dead by the time you return.

How large are these green tomatoes? If you're growing full-size types, the greenies are still fairly small, & you have someone who'll be watering for you, than you may return to enjoy them in their ripe state.

If they're nearly full size but still green &/or you don't have a caretaker for your garden, then - although it's a big shame - by all means pick some of the largest ones & fry them up. There's no big secret to it. Just pick 'em, slice 'em, dip 'em in some beaten egg & cornmeal or cornmeal & seasoned flour, & saute them in butter (some folks prefer oil). I like them with a bit of tartar sauce on the side.

You can also pickle small whole green tomatoes in the same way you'd do dill pickles.

 

[Wyogal]

I like to do the 3-stage breading with my fried green tomatoes: seasoned flour, egg wash, cracker or bread crumbs. I had some served at a steak house with crab, bleu cheese remoulade, and a drizzle of reduced balsamic. mmmmmm.....
I know that some folks will pull a whole tomato plant in the fall (right before the frost) if it still has some green tomatoes on it, hang it upside down and let the fruit ripen that way. never tried it myself.

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks Breezy.......we have them on a watering system so I'm sure they won't be dead when we get back. It's hard to judge how big the maters will be by the time they turn red, since the tags for them said "med. size" tomatoes. I don't expect "beefsteak" size at any rate. My neighbor who will be watching the place has her own plants, or I'd just tell her to use them when they turn red. It's so disappointing
we will miss out on our first homegrown ripe tomatoes. I had my mouth all set for a fantastic BLT. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come for the rest of the season though.


Thanks for the fried green tomatoes hints Wyogal and Breezy.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I know that some folks will pull a whole tomato plant in the fall (right before the frost) if it still has some green tomatoes on it, hang it upside down and let the fruit ripen that way. never tried it myself.

That does work sometimes, but unfortunately the tomatoes have to at least be thinking about starting to turn red. I could be wrong, but have a feeling the OP's maters haven't reached that point yet.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Glad to hear you have the water covered. With tomatoes that's definitely a biggy.

Another fairly "biggy" is: Do you know if the varieties you planted are "determinate" or "indeterminate"? Determinate types reach a certain point of mature plant size & then pretty much set all their fruit at once. Then that's it - they don't produce any further. Indeterminate types continue growing & setting fruit until cut down by frost (or disease, etc.). So what varieties you have will pretty much predict what tomatoes you have later on in the season.

 

[Kayelle]

Breezy, at first I thought "oh geeze, a hard question!"
I just went out to look at the tags....thank goodness I didn't throw out the tags.
They are Indeterminate.......just luck on my part.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Woo hoo!! So you should be able to enjoy your vacation & the fruits of your gardening labors both!!