Uses of Green (unripe) tomatoes

[FrankZ]

Wait.. hold on.. slow down...

You can do something other than fried green maters?


Whoknew?

 

[Addie]

Mad Cow, would apple cider work in that?

 

[FrankZ]

Mad Cow, would apple cider work in that?

Hehehe

 

[Mad Cook]

Mad Cow, would apple cider work in that?

It needs vinegar as the preservative. Any would do (except the clear/white stuff which is only fit for household cleaning ) - malt vinegar, cider vinegar which made from alcoholic cider) or red or white wine vinegar would do although the last is expensive. Vinegar for preserving needs to be minimum 5% acidity. Without the vinegar the chutney wouldn't keep (wouldn't taste the same either).

Isn't apple cider another term for non-alcoholic apple juice in the US? Cider to us is the alcoholic stuff. Don't you call that "hard cider"?

Heinz make malt vinegar in the US
Malt Vinegar from Heinz® Vinegars

I'd never use malt vinegar, as the link suggests, for salad dressing because it's rather coarse flavoured but it's ideal for pickles and chutneys which are given time to mature before eating (and, of course, it's essential for proper fish and chips )

I believe Sarson's malt vinegar is imported from the UK and Amazon.com has it. Personally I prefer it to Heinz but not enough for it to matter for the chutney.

Heinz is Kosher but not sure about Sarsons. If it matters it should be easy to check.

 

[CWS4322]

I made green tomato-tomatillo salsa earlier this year. Basically, I approached the recipe the same way I do salsa with ripe tomatoes, only I didn't peel and seed them, I chopped them coarsely. tossed in fresh cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, hot peppers to taste, cooked it until the tomatoes were soft, and then pulsed half of it the blender, put it in containers for the freezer (didn't process it).

 

[GotGarlic]

I made green tomato-tomatillo salsa earlier this year. Basically, I approached the recipe the same way I do salsa with ripe tomatoes, only I didn't peel and seed them, I chopped them coarsely. tossed in fresh cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, hot peppers to taste, cooked it until the tomatoes were soft, and then pulsed half of it the blender, put it in containers for the freezer (didn't process it).

You cooked them on the stove top?

 

[CWS4322]

Yup. Basically took how I make salsa with red tomatoes and did the same thing with green. I did add a few ripe tomatoes, but mostly it was green tomatoes and tomatillos. I had five bags in the freezer, got one left.

 

[GotGarlic]

I've been roasting them for salsa and to put in posole. Love that toasty flavor

 

[larry_stewart]

Here's another one I got from an old Italian friend

Slice green tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick
In a colander, single layer of tomatoes, salt heavily, add another layer of tomatoes, salt heavily... keep going until done with tomatoes
Put a heavy plate on top of the tomatoes, leave in the sink ( as the salt will draw the water out of the tomatoes). Let them sit like this over night ( about 12 hours)

Next day, rinse off all the salt from the tomatoes, squeeze all the water out of them and place in a jar. Fill the jar with a 50/50 water / white vinegar solution, and let this sit over night .

Day 3, drain the tomatoes from the vinegar solution. squeeze dry again. Mix tomatoes with a bunch of sliced garlic, dried oregano ( not sure of measurements, just add until it looks right ). Place this mixture in a jar and fill / cover with oil ( olive oil if desired).

Place in fridge, lasts for a long time .
Great in a cold antipasto or just to snack on.

***Can change the vinegar / water ration depending on your preference.
***After rinsing the salt off, i like to try a tomato to make sure its not too salty. One year i didnt do a good job rinsing, and it was not very good.

 

[buckytom]

Isn't apple cider another term for non-alcoholic apple juice in the US? Cider to us is the alcoholic stuff. Don't you call that "hard cider"?


.

apple juice and apple cider dont have any absolute definitions here, but yes, they are non-alcoholic as opposed to "hard cider".

i think most people consider apple cider to be unfiltered and an opaque brownish colour. apple juice is filtered and yellowish but clear.

almost all apple ciders and juices are pasteurized and many have preservatives, but if you can find a raw cider, snatch it up.

open the jug, pour out a little, cover tightly with a cheesecloth or coffee filter and an elastic band. leave it on the counter for 24 to 48 hours (unless it's africa hot in the room), then put the jug in a bowl and put it in the back of the fridge and forget about it for a week.

hopefully, if the good little nasties got in there and farted enough, umm, i mean fermented the cider, you'll have a delicious homemade hard cider to enjoy.

Heinz make malt vinegar in the US
Malt Vinegar from Heinz® Vinegars

I'd never use malt vinegar, as the link suggests, for salad dressing because it's rather coarse flavoured but it's ideal for pickles and chutneys which are given time to mature before eating (and, of course, it's essential for proper fish and chips )

i like to drown my chips in malt vinegar and a little kosher salt. the vinegar seems to soak in very fast, so you lose it's taste. unless you use enough.

 

[buckytom]

getting back to green termaters, i think i'll be utilizing some of the suggestions posted here. well, except for fried.

fried stuff ist verboten in mein haus.

ja wohl, mein panzer frau, i mean mein liebchun (dw).

 

[blissful]

I'm dredging up this old post because now is when I need to use up a bucket of green tomatoes.

My family isn't a fan of sweet canned chutneys, I've made them, no one eats them here.

What I have in mind, is a casserole with green tomatoes, diced green/red peppers, slightly cooked sliced onions, some mushrooms, diced smoked ham, layered, a cream sauce with cheese, or just cheese on top. And buttered bread crumbs on the side that my son will be eating. I'll be eating the unbreaded side.

Then a scalloped potatoes and ham for DH for the lunches. (no weird looking things like green tomatoes)

I might make a salsa type recipe with jalapenos that are pickled, chopped green tomatoes, raw chopped onions, red/green chopped peppers. This might be good for tortilla chips, or served with fried/poached eggs, or ?? I'll figure it out.

So if you have green tomatoes, it is time to use them.

 

[CarolPa]

I don't like green tomatoes, but then I probably never had anything prepared properly with them. My MIL used to make Chow Chow, but hers wasn't like the Chow Chow recipes I saw online. Hers had green tomatoes, cabbage, onions and I don't know what else. I didn't like it.

We don't get many green tomatoes since we only have a few plants, but I wrap them in newspaper and let them ripen so we can eat them red. We have 3 or 4 of them right now.

 

[blissful]

Green tomatoes have kind of sour taste to them, tangy, and I like that. The casserole turned out good. A bowl of fresh vegetables baked with a little ham and cheese. If you expect green tomatoes to taste like red tomatoes, it isn't the same, green tomatoes are more sour than red tomatoes. They keep their shape nicely, very pretty even after baking.

 

[Josie1945]

Larry and Bucky I am sorry I just realized
That I never posted the recipe for green
tomato gravy there is no recipe but here
are the instructions.


Dice two green tomatoes fine. Saute then in
three tablespoons of hot oil until soft. stir in three
tablespoons flour and cook flour for two minutes
Add water or stock one cup at the time until you
have the thickness you want. Serve over biscuits.
You can enlarge this by increasing the oil and the
flour


Josie

 

[adriana georgeta]

Did you try pickle green tomatoes?

 

[larry_stewart]

Did you try pickle green tomatoes?

Love them , and thats what I wound up doing with the bulk of them. Still have a few outside I may use to try some of the above mentioned options too.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Glad to see this thread revived. I have at least a dozen unripe tomatoes on the vine yet, so I might just pick them and try out a couple of these recipes.