Ripen Green Tomatoes?

[hrhofmann]

What is the latest great idea for ripening green tomatoes?

[Moe DeLoughan]

An oldie but goodie is to pull up the entire plant, hang it in a frost-free area, and just let the fruit ripen on the vine.

[Billy]

There is none except ethylene gas. Usually, green tomatoes are placed in a bag with bananas, which give off ethylene gas as they ripen, and they will ripen, so to speak, the tomatoes. Don't expect vine ripe flavor.

If the tomatoes are showing some color, you might put them on news paper, on a window ledge, not touching. Invoking the aid of some deity may help also, at least to sooth your mind.

An alternative plan is to use the green tomatoes in place of tomatillos in Mexican recipes, e.g.:

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce (Enchiladas Verdes)

2 cups Salsa Verde (see recipe below) 1/4 cup oil 12 corn tortillas 1-1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded 1/3 cup diced onion 1/2 cup sour cream 3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled

Warm the salsa in a saucepan. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet. One at a time, fry the tortillas for a few seconds to soften. Place on a towel to drain. When done, dip each tortilla in the warm salsa. In the middle, place some chicken, onion, and white onion. Roll up and place in baking dish. When completely done, cover enchiladas with remaining salsa, then sprinkle on crumbled cheese. Serve hot.

Tomatillo (or green tomato) Salsa (Salsa Verde)

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, coarsely chopped Peppers to taste (Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheims) 1/2 cup cilantro leaves 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons diced onion Salt

Place tomatillos in a saucepan and barely cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until soft - about 10 minutes. Place half of the tomatillos in a blender jar. Add the cilantro, garlic, and onion. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining tomatillos, and pulse a few times, just enough to break up any larger pieces. Return sauce to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt.

[David Hare-Scott]

Keep at room temperature and wait.

D

[songbird]

yep,

no need to put it in a sunny place as that does nothing to help.

we've placed ours on a table in the garage and most of them ripened. the flavor is acceptable, but not the same as vine ripened.

we have our last harvest sitting on the counter top here in the kitchen, as they ripen they'll get eaten.

songbird

[hrhofmann]

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 12:24:09 PM UTC-5, [e-mail] wro te:

I just want them to get sort of red, then they will go into a big pot on th e stove to cook, get strained thru a coarse strainer and make some great to mato juice or bloody mary mix extender. Freezes up easily to last for many months until next tomato season.

[Brooklyn1]

That just wastes them, salad tomatoes are awful for cooking sauce, they are much too watery. Instead cook fried green tomatoes; dredge slices in sesoned cornmeal and pan fry... extra can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. I like to pickle green tomatoes by the fermentation method, delicious.

[hrhofmann]

The thought of fried green tomatoes makes me want to puke. My mother used to force me to eat those things at the end of eery summer when I was a kid and even now it is thoroughly disgusting in my mind.

[David Hare-Scott]

Try slicing them and putting a slice over each eye - you will see the world in a different light.

D

[Brooklyn1]

Then you're so lucky not having a mind.

[Jeff Layman]

Whatever method you decide on, keep an eye out for the tomatoes going dark rather than red. It probably means that the plant had early blight, which wasn't showing much when you picked the green tomatoes.

If you find any, throw them in the bin rather than compost them, as some say that the blight fungus can survive composting.

[gus.overton]

why newspaper? I had forgotten, but my dad used to do that. In a mostly dark, dank basement... Who is the patron saint of tomatoes ripening?

do ripe bananas work better than other ripe tomatoes? I suppose ethylene is ethylene and does not matter.

why can't the tomatoes touch? They do on the vine.

[David Hare-Scott]

The idea is to reduce problems with fungus by soaking up any moisture and allowing air to ciculate. Promoting air ciculation on the vines is beneficial too.

D

[gus.overton]

thx... doesn't putting them in a paper bag ripen them faster, the ethylene... using paper rather than plastic, absorbs some fungus amongus?

is it ok if they touch in a paper bag?

[gus.overton]

I tried a banana, but didn't seem to do much. After few days, got hungry for a banana so had to take it out of the paper bag and eat part... Some tomatoes are redding, a decent looking couple.

[Brooklyn1]

Never heard of anyone eating only part of a banana... what did you do with the uneaten part?

[gus.overton]

You aren't the only one... fridge. I prefer most fruit cold. They are okay for a couple days fridged. I don't like when they start to speckle, start to get too sweet.

[Higgs Boson]

Me neither. I always try to buy my bananas at Trader Joe on the green side, and then I neglect to eat them until they are overripe. This time I felt too guilty to throw them away, so I made banana bread.

HB

[Brooklyn1]

Over ripe bananas are excellent frozen... better than ice cream... can even be dipped in chocolate and coated with nuts.

[Higgs Boson]

Fer sure? I gotta try this...

HB