Need ways to preserve green tomatoes
Here in Vermont we've been stricken with late tomato blight, which apparently blew in on a storm - and with our cold wet weather it's devastating the plants in just a few days. I've got 78 tomato plants, and have only picked a few ripe cherries - and even a couple of them were starting to show blight.
So I've got to pick all my green tomatoes in the next few days, and I'm wondering what experience you might have had preserving them through freezing or even canning, and what you did with them afterwards. I ordinarily make some green tomato mincemeat and a relish that uses both green and red tomatoes, but there's a limit to how much green tomato mincemeat I want around. I should have 100 pounds or more of green tomatotes. A good salsa recipe would be welcome. Anybody do anything with dried green tomatoes?
Any ideas or suggestions?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
8 Comments:
I make pickled green tomatoes, gosh, sorry to hear about your weather.
GREEN TOMATO DILL PICKLES (Kosher Style)
Green tomatoes
stalk celery
sweet green peppers
garlic
2 qts water
1 qt vinegar
1 C salt
Dill
Pack small firm green tomatoes into sterilized quart jars. Add to each jar a bud of garlic, 1 stalk of celery and 1 green pepper (cut into 1/4's). Make a brine of the water, vinegar and salt. Boil with the dill for 5 minutes. Pour the hot brine over the tomatoes to within 1/2 ich of top of the jar. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes. They'll be ready for use in 4-6 wks. (This amount of brine fills about 6 quarts.)
bubbamom at 10:47AM on 07/31/09
I've made a green tomato and lemon jam before. It was delish with cheeses and as a sweet spread. Then you can use it to make things like jam sandwich cookies, linzertortes, top a cheesecake with it, even top a baked brie with it?
bigfatmouth at 12:22PM on 07/31/09
This wouldn't be a long-term solution, but in Martha Stewart's column in our local paper today, she had a quickie recipe for green tomato pickles.
You just quarter them, and add them to a jar of leftover dill pickle brine (from a commercial jar of dill pickles). Refrigerate for one week before serving, they will keep in you fridge for a month.
deetroitMI at 12:25PM on 07/31/09
That tomato blight is apparently devastating crops all over New England, it's bad here in Rhode Island too.
The first thing I do with green tomatoes is green tomato and apple chutney (fabulous with Indian food or with tons of other stuff and a great gift):
http://homecooking.about.com/od/condimentrecipes/r/blcon51.htm
(common recipe, I'm not sure that is the exact version I used but it is all the same ingredients)
The second thing I've done is a salsa verde that use green tomatoes instead of tomatillos, I believe it's in the Ball Home Canning book.
swampyankee at 2:20PM on 07/31/09
Pickled green tomatoes are fantastic. Be sure to include lots of celery and lots of garlic bulbs.
dmcavanagh at 5:44PM on 07/31/09
Thanks for these suggestions. I'm still thinking I'd like to freeze some for late use.
I had tried green tomato pickles once with cherry tomatoes and thought they were awful. (I think Alton Brown's kinda sorta sours). I'll try bubbamom's recipe.
I hadn't thought to look in the Ball book for a salsa verde. I have tomatillos in the garden that are okay, so I could substitute part of the tomatillos with green tomatoes, too.
@swampyankee - sorry to hear you've got this too, in RI. I feel for those who are small farmers. The Burlington Free Press this morning told about a CSA farm that just started to notice the problem July 22, and their entire crop has been wiped out in just a few days.
lemonfair at 5:58PM on 07/31/09
A spin off of Absolute vodka makes green tomato olives. I'm trying to find a recipe. I was served these at a big promotional event and loved them. If I could find a recipe I might not ever let my green cherry tomatoes ripen.
inkandsausages at 8:20PM on 08/04/09
Slice tomatoes and layer with salt in a plastic container.
Refrigerate one day.
Drain off the water that collects in the container.
Pour in white vinegar to cover tomatoes.
Refrigerate one day.
Pour off vinegar and layer in clean jars with the following items:
Chopped garlic
dry Oregano
dry Basil
Freshly ground pepper
If desired, slip in a dried hot pepper for some kick
Pour in olive oil to cover tomatoes in each jar. There are properties in garlic that don't like olive oil but I find it hard to believe ANYTHING can live with tomatoes that are preserved in vinegar. To be on the safe side, refrigerate them.
To serve - bring to room temperature as, when chilled, olive oil can congeal.
I started doing this with green tomatoes but I have eggplants in the fridge done this very same way.
therealchiffonade at 9:21PM on 08/04/09