What to do with my green tomatoes?

Every year I end up with piles of green tomatoes. I would have more, but the squirrels like them too.  Even sharing with the local wildlife, I’m often burdened with trying to find something to do with them.

My goal this fall is to eat them, somehow, some way.

First, I need to clarify that these are not tomatillos, or actual green tomatoes, these are red tomatoes that didn’t get ripe – they ran out of summer and got pulled off as I cleared out the garden.

After much googling, here are some of my favourite idea for using up my green tomatoes.

Fermented Green Tomatoes
AKA lacto-fermented green tomatoes – this is so easy and apparently really good for you.  Fermentation has been around a million years or something like that, and they last a really long time.  My mother often prepares buckets of cabbage in the fall – and sometime includes green tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes
No, not the movie; this is all about breading and frying and putting into sandwiches with lots of mayo and other condiments.  Sign me up now – how could this possibly be a bad thing.  It’s not a recipe for those watching your calories, but could be a great way to use up my larger tomatoes.

Green Tomato Pie
I’m not sure about this one – there seem to be a few different versions, but from what I can tell, it’s like swapping out apples for green tomatoes.  This may be one for when I’m feeling adventurous.

Green Tomato Ketchup
I love condiments, and how could I not love this one.  It’s got sugar, onions, vinegar and pickling spices.   I think it’s a traditional French thing, eaten with meats and tortiere, but I’m sure it would be good with a good tofu bake too.

The Winner!

In the end, I decided since my tomatoes were small, and since lacto-fermented vegetable are supposed to be good for you (more on that topic to come) I would try the pickled tomatoes.  It was pretty simple to do, I washed and halved the tomatoes.  I chopped two cloves of garlic, and placed them in a very, very clean 1 litre jar.   I mixed 2 tablespoons of sea salt (not iodized table salt – don’t ask why, that’s just what I read on many sites) into 1 litre of water.  I used warm water to dissolve the salt then let it cool off.    I put a mason jar snap lid on – but opened it periodically to release bubbles – air.  Warning, do this in a sink, sometimes it bursts up and out.

After two weeks I tasted them and found them to be quite delicious.  I recommend you give it a try.