What to do with green tomatoes?

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What to do with green tomatoes?

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Vic

Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 387
Location: Sherborne, Dorset

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 07 11:43 am Post subject: What to do with green tomatoes?

I've just had the following rather plaintive email from my sister

Dug up the bloody tomatoes yesterday as most of the foliage was dead. Do have about 1/2 a kilo of untouched green tomatoes - very tempted to turn them into a green chutney but Hugh F-W's recipe is a bit complicated and I'd need to get some waxed lids for pots etc etc. Any other green tomato ideas???

I have to be completely honest and say she's not the world's best or most confident cook. Any suggestions for simple things she can do with them? or a chutney recipe that doesn't scare her to death?

sleepyowl

Joined: 17 Jul 2007
Posts: 7
Location: Stourbridge

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 9:04 am Post subject:
4lb of tomatoes 1pt of vinegar 1lb of sugar 1 lage onion 1 cooking apple 1 chilli 1 tablespoon of mixed spice cut your tomamatoes & put them in a large pan, pour in the vingar & add the apple, onion & chilli & then the sugar, bring to the boil & then simmer until reduced which will probably be about about an hour to two hours stirring it regularly & keeping an eye on it.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45505
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 11:07 am Post subject:
leave them a while and they will ripen

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45431
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 11:10 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

leave them a while and they will ripen

That's the easiest option. i did a chilli sauce with mine last year but no recipe....

Vic

Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 387
Location: Sherborne, Dorset

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 12:29 pm Post subject:
thanks everyone. I think given the small quantity, she's best off waiting for them to ripen, possibly with the aid of a banana or two.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 8:00 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

leave them a while and they will ripen

Question: why is the foliage dead? If its blight, I recommend you get cooking asap, I tried waiting for some outdoor toms to ripen, they developed brown patches!

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 07 8:14 pm Post subject:

and another thing, about 30 years ago I bought a book entitled "The Green Tomato cookbook". Recipes include:
- Green Tomato Spice bread,
- Green Tomato Wine,
- Poor Man's Little Flat Fruitcakes,
- Green Tomato Mincemeat Cobblers,
- Ice Cream Sundae Topping,

and the only one I've tried - "Mrs Armbruster's German Chowder Relish" (and it was a while ago!)

1 (US) gallon Green Tomatoes - chopped fine,
2/3 cup Salt,
8 medium onions
4 large green peppers,
4 cups of sugar,
2-2/3 cups Cider vinegar,
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Celery seed.

Salts the tomatoes, stand overnight, then drain. (I found it impossible to remove the salt, I now just boil it up to reduce it to a thick pulp.)

Add rest of ingredients, boil, ladle into jars .....

Is it worth listing all the recipes in case one of them grabs someones fancy?

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 07 2:48 pm Post subject:
If you don't fancy hunting high and low for those little circles of waxed paper to go in the jars, you can make your own by cutting up the plastic bags that come from inside cereal packets.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35056
Location: Devon

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 07 2:55 pm Post subject:

Lozzie wrote:

If you don't fancy hunting high and low for those little circles of waxed paper to go in the jars, you can make your own by cutting up the plastic bags that come from inside cereal packets.

What are they for? I Never use them at all.

pookie

Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 4984
Location: Mid-Wales

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 07 9:28 pm Post subject:

oldish chris wrote:

Is it worth listing all the recipes in case one of them grabs someones fancy?

yes please Chris!

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 07 9:48 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Lozzie wrote:

If you don't fancy hunting high and low for those little circles of waxed paper to go in the jars, you can make your own by cutting up the plastic bags that come from inside cereal packets.

What are they for? I Never use them at all.

The idea is that some of the wax melts off the paper, spreads out over the surface of the jam/pickle/whatever and seals out all trace of air.

Nice idea to use the waxed paper from cereal packets...
... does anyone just use melted (candle?) wax?

Rosemary Judy

Joined: 08 Aug 2005
Posts: 1215
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 07 4:19 pm Post subject:

don't use the waxed circles for chutney or pickle. Use a clean ( new) screw on lid.

I make sure there is a good 3/4 (three quarters) inch gap at the top, so the vinegar can't touch the lid and thus corrode it, and just reuse old jars. I find bottled pasta sauce jars my friends provide me with are just fine......
and a soak in hot soapy water and a good scrub with a brush seems to be enough to clean them thoroughly

the waxed circles should only be used with the cellophane circles, and vinegar will evaporate through the cellophane and ruin the keeping qualities of the preserve....

I'd just wait for them to go red !

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 07 4:32 pm Post subject:
The main advantage to having a little circle of paper is that if a stray fungal spore gets in, it can't settle on top of the jam and spoil it. I don't use waxed ones, I cut circles of greaseproof paper and use those. If you do get a bit of mold on top then it tends only to spread as far as the paper. For chutneys and pickles I'm in the same camp as Rosemary Judy, but I don't use new lids.

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