Late season Green Tomatoes - What do I do with them now?

[MossflowerWoods]

We just had our first hard frost earlier this week and I had my daughters pick every single tomatoe left on the vines. I now have almost 3 gallons of mostly green, mostly cherry/grape tomatoes sitting inside in a bucket.

I love home grown tomatoes, but we don't do much with green ones.

I do not have space to lay them all out in a sunny spot to see if they ripen.

Therefore, what other thing could I do with them?

I've though of freezing them for a green chili, or making some sort of green salsa.

Got any great ideas?

I know I can just compost them, but that is not much fun.

Thanks in advance,
Be well.
David

 

[dmccarty]

Pickle them.

I just saw this on a cooking show last week. The old guy they were talking to on the show just sliced up the green tomatoes, layered them in a bucket, salted the layer, added more tomatoes, salted, repeat. He then put a plate or some such on the top, put a big rock his grandfather used on the plate to weigh it down, and then added salt water to cover.

He would fry them. Looked yummy.

I would find a better recipe but given the guy was old enough to have talked to people who knew Moses and he was using his the rock his grandfather used to pickle the tomatoes I would venture to guess the technique is safe. :laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I don't know what you can do with the small cherry tomatoes other than freeze them.

Next year pull the entire vine up with the tomatoes on them. Hang the vines up side down by the roots. The nutrients are still in the vine and most of the tomatoes will ripen:thumbsup:. We have tied wet newspaper and peatmoss on the roots like this and get ripe tomatoes 2-3 weeks after we pull them up. I usually hang them in the basement near a door or where they can get some light.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Hi David, If they are not frost bit I just put them in a closed paper bag, they will ripen just fine that way. If they are frost bit or damaged, fry them up fast:licking:

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Pickle them.

Later,
Dan

That is a good idea. My wife tried pickling whole greenbeans this year. Believe it or not they were good.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

My wife is big on old school pickling (no vinegar, natural style like Dan described) and she makes an amazing Pico-de-gallo salsa, and pickled garlic, and some other stuff...

I might convince her to try it.

None of them are frost bit, we picked them before the frost, but there are a number of them that split and are not really pretty...

I will try to remember the pull the whole vine trick next year...

Thanks,
David

 

[Car Doc]

We pickle the green tomatoes too at end of season. We do Mrs Wages bread and butter and our own hot versions great way to use up the last of the tomatoes rather than compost them.

 

[creekbend]

If you do decide to pickle them and want to discard the split ones, here is a thought. Cattle will eat them and hogs will fight over them. BTW, I realize that you don't have cattle or hogs, but a neighbor might appreciate the offer. There may not be many to offer one of your neighbors, but even a small amount would be considered neighborly. Just a thought. Best wishes. BTW, I'm sincerely glad that your Wife is feeling better.

 

[crankshaft21]

I pulled all my green tomatoes this , I have them in the shed on a rack. Don`t have them in direct sunlight. I am still eating ripe tomatoes. They will still rippen after they are pulled.

 

[TCJatko]

Pickled green tomatoes are delicious.