Need ideas for about half a billion unripe heirloom tomatoes

The garden got a late start this year for various reasons, and an overnight freeze seems imminent, so today we harvested all the tomatoes. We got a lot more than I expected: about 30 lbs., I think.

We will probably make fried green tomatoes for dinner tonight to eat with leftover Georgian spice-rubbed pork shoulder in pomegranate garlic sauce (hey, as my husband put it, it's all Georgian food - what's not to like?) but what can we do with the rest of them? Chutney intrigues me (and I am willing to try my hand at canning it), but what else can I make? Specific recipe recommendations would be awesome if you have them. (I've never made fried green tomatoes, for one, so I am flying blind here. In fact, I don't think I've ever made green tomato anything.)

Things that can be canned or frozen are probably preferable: there are only 2 of us, and that's a lot of green tomatoes!

You can still ripen them--put them in a paper bag on the counter with a few ripe tomatoes. I had to take down my tomatoes early due to some work that had to be done on our building and I've been enjoying the tomatoes ripened in the bag for the past couple of weeks.

Pickle 'em.

boudreaulicious wrote:You can still ripen them--put them in a paper bag on the counter with a few ripe tomatoes. I had to take down my tomatoes early due to some work that had to be done on our building and I've been enjoying the tomatoes ripened in the bag for the past couple of weeks.

We can do that with a few, maybe, but not 30 lbs.!

I have a 6 qt. crockpot full of this cooking right now, with extra golden raisins, fresh ginger instead of ground, and some bonus chopped habanero: http://foodinjars.com/2010/11/green-tomato-chutney/

Maybe tomorrow I will poke around for tomato pickle recipes. If the chutney comes out well, it will make some nice holiday gifts.

Eva Luna wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:You can still ripen them--put them in a paper bag on the counter with a few ripe tomatoes. I had to take down my tomatoes early due to some work that had to be done on our building and I've been enjoying the tomatoes ripened in the bag for the past couple of weeks.

We can do that with a few, maybe, but not 30 lbs.!

I have a 6 qt. crockpot full of this cooking right now, with extra golden raisins, fresh ginger instead of ground, and some bonus chopped habanero: http://foodinjars.com/2010/11/green-tomato-chutney/

Maybe tomorrow I will poke around for tomato pickle recipes. If the chutney comes out well, it will make some nice holiday gifts.

Get some heavy duty cardboard boxes. Wrap each tomato in newspaper and place them inside cushion in between. Close boxes. Store somewhere dark. Check weekly. I have had tomatoes ripen this way and enjoyed them well into November.

We launched that many with a beach slingshot a couple of years ago!

Pickle either crock or processed.
I made both again this year from the bounty of a farmer friend.
You have already done the hard part by picking!
Crock 1:1 Apple vinegar:water with garlic, hot pepper for a little zing, calcium chloride to keep crisp(found iin pickling section of grocery store), Dill.
Process, same ingrediants and measures, hot water bath.-Richard
BTW cut into sections for a better packing fraction, i.e more pickle per jar than whole.

Kepchuck!

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=29923

I'm thinking of some or all of these pickles, but I might have to go out for more jars and vinegar. Where on Earth does one find dill seed? I don't think I've ever seen it.

http://www.gardenbetty.com/2011/08/four ... -tomatoes/

Wait - somewhere in the basement there should be most of a case of quart jars. But is a quart too many pickles to open at once? And do the lids get un-sticky over time even if they don't get used?

Hi- I was at Jewel a few days ago. The one on Green Bay in Wilmette, which I know is nowhere near you. In their nonfood clearance section though, they had lids for the jars for I believe $.75 per package. I think they were originally $3. As long as your rings are not rusted and are clean, they should work, but you will need to get new lids. Back in September at the same Jewel, I got a box of 12 rings and lids for $.75 too, which was an even better deal. Most Jewel stores have their nonfood clearance somewhere in the Osco side of the store, but you might also check the regular clearance too. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi= Dill seed you should be able to get at the Spice House or some place similar. Did any of your heirloom tomatoes ever get ripe? I know in general we had a cooler summer than normal. The only variety I had good luck with this summer was the one Juliet I planted in my garden this summer. The heirloom tomato plants I got for free at a plant swap the end of May in Evanston were not very productive, and I was not able to find any Sun Gold cherry tomato plants to plant in my garden. I will have to get to Anton's earlier next year.

Yep, we got quite a number of ripe ones - the varieties I chose were mostly on the small side (only a few were as big as 3' - 4" across). I still have at least 2 - 3 lbs. of ripe ones.

Hopefully next year Boris, my big klutzy muscular lunk of a cat, won't knock over my seedling flats and we won't be starting from scratch in late May

I got all my seeds from these guys, who were recommended by a friend who has a horticulture degree: http://www.superseeds.com/

Score! Found dill seed in the Indian section at Fresh Farms. Today's projects yielded 12 8 oz. jars of chutney, 2 pints of garlic dill pickles, 2 pints of regular pickles, and 2 pints of curry pickles. Tomorrow's project is probably a big batch of green tomato salsa.

Eva Luna wrote:Score! Found dill seed in the Indian section at Fresh Farms.

Indian dill (Anethum sowa) is a different species than European dill (Anethum graveolens). It's been a while since I had suva/sowa in my kitchen, but I recall it being fairly similar to what's usually sold as dill seed. According to Gernot Katzer: "A related species (A. sowa) is grown in India; its fruits [usually incorrectly called seeds] are larger but less fragrant. Therefore, when dill is asked for by an Indian recipe, it is advisable to reduce the amount of dill by about 30 to 50%, unless the book was explicitly written for Westerners."

Hi- I had not heard of the company you ordered seed from Pinetree, and so I looked them up on Dave's Garden Watchdog, and there are quite a few negative reviews. There prices are really cheap, but people complained that their germination rate was low, or they sent them the wrong seeds. I happen to love Johnny's Seed which is also in Maine, but they are going to be a lot more expensive than Pinetree. In general I have had wonderful germination rates with their seeds, and one time I ordered some seed potatoes from them, and I never received them. I called them up, and even though I am sure the post office lost the package, they sent me out another bag of potatoes for free. I also had a code for free shipping, but I was having problems using a gift card that I had, and when I called them up the next day to try to get things straightened out, they were able to apply my gift certificate. They also offered to give me free shipping, even though the free shipping offer had expired the day before. At least you did not grow any huge tomatoes, and that is why you got so many ripe tomatoes.

Usually one uses flowering dill heads in the fall but if not available Penzy's sells a fine dill seed that I use.-Richard

I love tomato jelly.

Vat of roasted green tomato salsa in process, followed by canning! I think we are going to end up with about a gallon and a half. I also think a lot of family members are going to end up with jars of homemade green tomato salsa, green tomato pickles, and chutney as holiday gifts.

I made pickles with my green tomatoes, following the recipe my parents use for Polish cucumber pickles. They were surprisingly good-- I recommend this for your excess green tomatoes.



This is the recipe I used:
For a 2-qt jar, boil 4 c filtered water with 1/8 c pickling salt and 1/2 c white vinegar. Let brine cool to room temp. Pack tomato wedges (or cucumbers) in jar with ~6 cloves of garlic and a bunch of dill. Top with a slice of seedless rye bread. Pour brine over, cover loosely, let sit at room temp for ~3 days. Refrigerate.

I didn't can these.

Pie-love wrote:I made pickles with my green tomatoes, following the recipe my parents use for Polish cucumber pickles. They were surprisingly good-- I recommend this for your excess green tomatoes.



This is the recipe I used:
For a 2-qt jar, boil 4 c filtered water with 1/8 c pickling salt and 1/2 c white vinegar. Let brine cool to room temp. Pack tomato wedges (or cucumbers) in jar with ~6 cloves of garlic and a bunch of dill. Top with a slice of seedless rye bread. Pour brine over, cover loosely, let sit at room temp for ~3 days. Refrigerate.

I didn't can these.

Thanks, but between the 12 half-pint jars of chutney, the 6 jars of various pickles, the 12 half-pint jars of salsa, the 4 pint jars of salsa, and the extra quart of salsa in the fridge (not to mention the spare jar of salsa I gave away to a co-worker), I have successfully demolished this year's green tomatoes. Maybe next year.

Eva Luna wrote:Thanks, but between the 12 half-pint jars of chutney, the 6 jars of various pickles, the 12 half-pint jars of salsa, the 4 pint jars of salsa, and the extra quart of salsa in the fridge (not to mention the spare jar of salsa I gave away to a co-worker), I have successfully demolished this year's green tomatoes. Maybe next year.

Nice work!l After you've had time to digest and consider, I'd be interested in which of the recipes was your favorite-- because, you know, next year.

If you are still looking for suggestions, I have some Indian Green Tomato recipes for you. I have not has the Jam and Chutney; but can vouch for the Pappu and the Kadhi. Both are excellent.

Green Tomato Kadhi

Green Tomato Pappu (lentils)

Green Tomato Jam

Green Tomato Chutney

I usually also use Onions when making the Green Tomato Pappu. I also add some Lime juice to increase the sourness of the curry if the Green Tomatoes are not 'green' enough.

PS: Oops, looks like I missed my opportunity to contribute to Eva Luna's Green Tomato Extravaganza this year. Use them for next year!

Indianbadger wrote:If you are still looking for suggestions, I have some Indian Green Tomato recipes for you. I have not has the Jam and Chutney; but can vouch for the Pappu and the Kadhi. Both are excellent.

Green Tomato Kadhi

Green Tomato Pappu (lentils)

Green Tomato Jam

Green Tomato Chutney

I usually also use Onions when making the Green Tomato Pappu. I also add some Lime juice to increase the sourness of the curry if the Green Tomatoes are not 'green' enough.

PS: Oops, looks like I missed my opportunity to contribute to Eva Luna's Green Tomato Extravaganza this year. Use them for next year!

Thanks - we still have a few green ones left, enough for some kind of side dish I think, and the guys with the plot next to oours have told us to take anything they didn't pick, so I think there may be a few more tomorrow when we go outside tomorrow to put the garden to bed for the winter. And we do love our Indian food! And of course there's always next year.

ETA: the green tomato kadhi intrigues me - I've never seen anything like it. But the cooking directions are apparently designed for a stovetop pressure cooker. What would "cook for three whistles" mean on a stovetop in a regular saucepan or in an electric pressure cooker?

"Whistles" discussed nicely here.

Geo

ETA: the green tomato kadhi intrigues me - I've never seen anything like it. But the cooking directions are apparently designed for a stovetop pressure cooker. What would "cook for three whistles" mean on a stovetop in a regular saucepan or in an electric pressure cooker?

Since I DO have a Indian pressure cooker and usually cook everything in it to 'three whistles', I have no suggestions for you!
But for this recipe, as it contains no dals etc that need cooking; I would suggest a low and slow simmer after getting it to a boil for 20-30 mins should do the trick. It is a way to break down the Green Tomato fully. And if you have a hand held blender, this makes life easier.

Eat the kadhi with rice. Eating this with a roti is messy.