OK - these tomatillo innards are not melting!

stormymater · January 20, 2011

I have 3 or 4 tomatillo innards in a coffee cup in water by the sink for a few days. Nice mold mat but the innards immersed in water are still crispy not melty. I plan to use a fine mesh tea strainer rather than the bigger mesh sink strainer to catch the seeds but they are still trapped in crispy innards. Anything to do other than wait?

David Marek · January 20, 2011

Not sure if freezing will mess them up, but it will turn them to mush. I forget to clean up a plant end of '09 and had a small tomatillo forest in that spot this past year.

walkinggin · January 20, 2011

I've never bothered to ferment the seeds because they aren't surrounded by gel. I don't need many so I just pick the seed out from amongst the flesh with the tip of a paring knife and let the seed dry on a paper plate. If you need a lot I bet you could whirl the entire fruit(s) along with some water in a blender and then strain the seed out.

Of course the fermentation process may help kill pathogens.

Ginny

recruiterg · January 20, 2011

I could be wrong and others will chime in here, but I think you can just throw them in a blender, then separate the seeds as best as possible, then dry on a paper plate.

stormymater · January 20, 2011

And this is why I love you folks! Off to blend them up before DH chucks the whole mug!

ContainerTed · January 20, 2011

I cut the tomatillos up into thin slices and squeeze the stuff between my fingers to "pop" the seeds out of the pulp. The other way is to use your Back to Basics food mill with the tomato screen and most of the seeds will come out the "waste end".

Ted

stormymater · January 20, 2011

Ooooooh Container Ted - soooo funny on soooo many levels....
Blenderized & rinsed & picked from the fine mesh strainer.
From 3 or 4ntomatatillos I now have enough seed to take over the cul-de-sac!

Seriously, I am not supposed to plant these anywhere near tomatoes, am I?
I ask b/c I will have 2 growing locations this summer - WIDELY separated.

freelancer79d · January 20, 2011

I used the OxyClean method on my Tomatillo seeds and had no problem with the innards staying crispy.

newatthiskat · January 20, 2011

I grow my tomitillos in amongst the tomato plants. I have never had any problems. I do a couple of rows on tomatoes then a random tomitillo row. They work out great together. No parties or intermingling that I know of.

Kat

stormymater · January 20, 2011

Cool! I turned my country friends onto home made tomatillo slasa after they told me how much they liked Taco Bell's Verde sauce. I drove out to see them when they were snowbound with 5 inches of snow (smart people who choose to stay put when they know they do not know how to drive on snow/slush) & brought the makings for tomatillo salsa. We cooked up a batch & used a Taco Bell packet to approximate the taste. They are sold on tomatillos & want to plant a bunch to make salsa from. I had 3 or 4 over ripe ones which I decided to save seed from.
Seeds drying on a paper towel to my left as I type.
Only things different from Taco Bell's sauce were - 1. no corn syrup - these tomatillos were very sweet & I generally avoid corn syrup; 2. no green bell pepper - I brought several varieties of sweet pepper from my store in the garage (picked at Thanksgiving) but none had that green-slightly bitter edge of green pepper (will fix that next summer). Otherwise, salt, onion, garlic, chili powder, lemon juice & vinegar & we were almost there (we liked our version better FTR).

newatthiskat · January 20, 2011

Hmm that sounds yummy!! I will definately try that recipie. I love taco bells sauce. Just had it for the first time
kat

ContainerTed · January 20, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormymater

Ooooooh Container Ted - soooo funny on soooo many levels....
Blenderized & rinsed & picked from the fine mesh strainer.
From 3 or 4ntomatatillos I now have enough seed to take over the cul-de-sac!

Seriously, I am not supposed to plant these anywhere near tomatoes, am I?
I ask b/c I will have 2 growing locations this summer - WIDELY separated.

First of all, I would put at least two plants in any location. They do not cross with tomatoes in my experience. So, not a problem there. They DO cross easily with other varieties of tomatillos, though. So, I would not put more than one variety in any location. In 2009, I had one variety on one side of the house and another on the other side - roughly 75 apart with the house in-between.

Secondly, one or two plants will give you enough fruits to supply the neighborhood.

Other than that, they really add a delicious extra flavor to salsa and piquante.

Ted

stormymater · January 20, 2011

A few more questions -

1. Do raw tomatillos give GI cramping? I've only used them cooked & watched my friend eat a raw one in sections... no complaints from him but he really eats anything...

2. Better to sprawl, stake, cage...

3. water requirements?

4. How many plants to make 100 pints of salsa (guestimate is all asked for)

5. Tomatillos are self-fertile?

2.

ContainerTed · January 21, 2011

A few answers -

1. Not in my experience

2. Support to keep the vines loaded with fruit from hitting the ground. The vines are very susceptible to easy breaking. Actually, you can't really call it a "Vine". It's more like a "stalk" with many branches.

3. About the same or maybe a little less than tomatoes.

4. I don't know this one. Cisneros tomatillos are larger than, say, Grande Maje - like twice or more. It's the difference between a golf ball and a ping pong ball. How many of which one would you put into one pint?? I got more than 100 fruit from one plant in ideal conditions in a container. You may get more with plants that are "in-the-ground".

5. I believe you need more than one plant because they are not self-fertile. I've seen posts on other forums that talk about having ony one plant, but the concensus would be more than one plant.

2. ???

Take care

Ted

Wi-sunflower · January 21, 2011

When you talked about them being very sweet -- those were ripe to over ripe in the opinion of most Mexicans I know.

For my markets, the Mexicans want the tomatillos to fill the husk but still be green in color. At that stage they will have a lemony taste that complements a salsa.

When the husk is brown and they fall off or you just can see that they are whitish-creamy color, then they will be sweeter and have a bit of a plum flavor to me. Gringos will use them but the Mexicans don't like them unless they can't get anything else. Too sweet for salsa. But you can make a compote or jam out of those.

I usually put 2 or 3 seeds in my germinating cells and pot them up all together like that. That way you know you have the 2 plants you need for pollination and if something cracks off, it's no big deal.

The plants are more brittle than tomatoes, but are also more weedy once they get going. We had several areas this summer that came up on their own from where we had had plants several years before.

Carol

January 20, 2011	#1
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	OK - these tomatillo innards are not melting! I have 3 or 4 tomatillo innards in a coffee cup in water by the sink for a few days. Nice mold mat but the innards immersed in water are still crispy not melty. I plan to use a fine mesh tea strainer rather than the bigger mesh sink strainer to catch the seeds but they are still trapped in crispy innards. Anything to do other than wait?

January 20, 2011	#6
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I cut the tomatillos up into thin slices and squeeze the stuff between my fingers to "pop" the seeds out of the pulp. The other way is to use your Back to Basics food mill with the tomato screen and most of the seeds will come out the "waste end". Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

January 20, 2011	#9
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	reply I grow my tomitillos in amongst the tomato plants. I have never had any problems. I do a couple of rows on tomatoes then a random tomitillo row. They work out great together. No parties or intermingling that I know of. Kat

January 20, 2011	#11
newatthiskat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: texas Posts: 1,451	Reply Hmm that sounds yummy!! I will definately try that recipie. I love taco bells sauce. Just had it for the first time kat

January 21, 2011	#14
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	A few answers - 1. Not in my experience 2. Support to keep the vines loaded with fruit from hitting the ground. The vines are very susceptible to easy breaking. Actually, you can't really call it a "Vine". It's more like a "stalk" with many branches. 3. About the same or maybe a little less than tomatoes. 4. I don't know this one. Cisneros tomatillos are larger than, say, Grande Maje - like twice or more. It's the difference between a golf ball and a ping pong ball. How many of which one would you put into one pint?? I got more than 100 fruit from one plant in ideal conditions in a container. You may get more with plants that are "in-the-ground". 5. I believe you need more than one plant because they are not self-fertile. I've seen posts on other forums that talk about having ony one plant, but the concensus would be more than one plant. 2. ??? Take care Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

January 20, 2011	#2
David Marek Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: St Charles, IL zone 5a Posts: 142	Not sure if freezing will mess them up, but it will turn them to mush. I forget to clean up a plant end of '09 and had a small tomatillo forest in that spot this past year.

January 20, 2011	#3
walkinggin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 196	I've never bothered to ferment the seeds because they aren't surrounded by gel. I don't need many so I just pick the seed out from amongst the flesh with the tip of a paring knife and let the seed dry on a paper plate. If you need a lot I bet you could whirl the entire fruit(s) along with some water in a blender and then strain the seed out. Of course the fermentation process may help kill pathogens. Ginny

January 20, 2011	#4
recruiterg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edina, MN (Zone 4) Posts: 945	I could be wrong and others will chime in here, but I think you can just throw them in a blender, then separate the seeds as best as possible, then dry on a paper plate.

January 20, 2011	#8
freelancer79d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lancaster, California Posts: 233	I used the OxyClean method on my Tomatillo seeds and had no problem with the innards staying crispy.

January 21, 2011	#15
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	When you talked about them being very sweet -- those were ripe to over ripe in the opinion of most Mexicans I know. For my markets, the Mexicans want the tomatillos to fill the husk but still be green in color. At that stage they will have a lemony taste that complements a salsa. When the husk is brown and they fall off or you just can see that they are whitish-creamy color, then they will be sweeter and have a bit of a plum flavor to me. Gringos will use them but the Mexicans don't like them unless they can't get anything else. Too sweet for salsa. But you can make a compote or jam out of those. I usually put 2 or 3 seeds in my germinating cells and pot them up all together like that. That way you know you have the 2 plants you need for pollination and if something cracks off, it's no big deal. The plants are more brittle than tomatoes, but are also more weedy once they get going. We had several areas this summer that came up on their own from where we had had plants several years before. Carol