Fried Green Tomatoes

IRITEI · June 22, 2012

Yankee question: When picking for fried green tomatoes, is it better to use green ones just before they turn red or do you want them younger and harder?

ScottinAtlanta · June 22, 2012

Green ones as large as you can find them. I have used young green and blushing green, all are good. The young ones are a little tarter on the tongue, which I like, but frying them makes them all sweet.

Worth1 · June 22, 2012

Poor tomato.

Worth

Solanum315 · June 23, 2012

I prefer hard green. I like my fired green tomatoes almost crunchy-firm. Pretty much any tomato will do for FGT but in the past some of the best have been Hungarian Heart, Hillbilly Potato Leaf and some commercial variety I picked up in a chow hall in Iraq. The latter was not even particularly good when ripe although it wasn't bad either. Just sayin' that if you eat FGT on the regular, get a plant that will put out a lot of dry, hard fruits. No need for an heirloom since the subtle flavors of the ripe fruit won't matter when battered and fried.

VC Scott · June 25, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solanum315

I prefer hard green. I like my fired green tomatoes almost crunchy-firm. Pretty much any tomato will do for FGT but in the past some of the best have been Hungarian Heart, Hillbilly Potato Leaf and some commercial variety I picked up in a chow hall in Iraq. The latter was not even particularly good when ripe although it wasn't bad either. Just sayin' that if you eat FGT on the regular, get a plant that will put out a lot of dry, hard fruits. No need for an heirloom since the subtle flavors of the ripe fruit won't matter when battered and fried.

I made fried green tomatoes with Hillbilly on Saturday. They were great. The tomatoes were still light green when picked, but inside they were already turning yellow. Look and tasted great.

Ted Posey · June 25, 2012

I agree with Scott those pale green or just blushing are best. but I also agree with Solanum that commercial green tomatos are almost as good fried as heirlooms.
One year my tomatos got early blight and died mid season. My wife and her friend went to a local commercial tomato farm where for $5.00 they picked a basket full of tomatos. Knowing how much I love fried green tomatos my wife got several greens ones. They were much better than the ripe on the vine ones. After a couple of messes there were two or three left over that I put on the window sill to ripen. About a month later I noticed they had turned red. About another month I noticed they had srivelled up. DID NOT ROT !

June 22, 2012	#1
IRITEI Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: WI Posts: 5	Fried Green Tomatoes Yankee question: When picking for fried green tomatoes, is it better to use green ones just before they turn red or do you want them younger and harder?

June 22, 2012	#2
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Green ones as large as you can find them. I have used young green and blushing green, all are good. The young ones are a little tarter on the tongue, which I like, but frying them makes them all sweet.

June 22, 2012	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Poor tomato. Worth

June 23, 2012	#4
Solanum315 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New York Posts: 244	I prefer hard green. I like my fired green tomatoes almost crunchy-firm. Pretty much any tomato will do for FGT but in the past some of the best have been Hungarian Heart, Hillbilly Potato Leaf and some commercial variety I picked up in a chow hall in Iraq. The latter was not even particularly good when ripe although it wasn't bad either. Just sayin' that if you eat FGT on the regular, get a plant that will put out a lot of dry, hard fruits. No need for an heirloom since the subtle flavors of the ripe fruit won't matter when battered and fried.

June 25, 2012	#6
Ted Posey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Al. Posts: 6	I agree with Scott those pale green or just blushing are best. but I also agree with Solanum that commercial green tomatos are almost as good fried as heirlooms. One year my tomatos got early blight and died mid season. My wife and her friend went to a local commercial tomato farm where for $5.00 they picked a basket full of tomatos. Knowing how much I love fried green tomatos my wife got several greens ones. They were much better than the ripe on the vine ones. After a couple of messes there were two or three left over that I put on the window sill to ripen. About a month later I noticed they had turned red. About another month I noticed they had srivelled up. DID NOT ROT !