The tomatoes are turning red....well, one turned yellow then orange , now it is turning red. I was looking at it and it fell off the plant into my hand, it is now on a table in the sun. It appears to be turning red. If a tomato starts turning red on the plant is that the end of its growing cycle? Will it get bigger? There will undoubtedly some green tomatoes as the season comes to a close. There was once a movie Fried Green Tomatoes which implies that there is something else to do with the green tomatoes. Does anyone do anything with unripened tomatoes? Jerry
Jerry, having lived and eaten in the South for about 15 years, I can tell you that fried green tomatoes are not all that they are advertised to be. Any tomato that shows any sign of ripening (a slight yellowish blush) will ripen on or off the vine. We go out in November before we get our first hard frost and pick all the green tomatoes, put them on a table in the laundry room, and have ripe home-grown tomatoes for a month or more. When a tomato starts to ripen on the vine, that's as big as it's going to get. Tomatoes ripen from the inside out, so a yellowish tomato is well on the way to becoming ripe. My aunt used to make green tomato relish. Refer to the first paragraph of this post.
It seems that I will have more green than red tomatoes this year as everything here is very late I have made: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2865 ... to-chutney a couple of times when we've had the same situation and can't be asked to having them lying around waiting to ripen.It goes very well with ham,gammon,cheese or sausages. If it works for you then it makes a good home-made gift.
Hi Marlingardener, I've just found this definition: ""Gammon is the name given to the meat from the hind legs of a pig that has been cured in the same way as bacon. The main difference between gammon and ham is that gammon will be sold raw and needs to be cooked; ham is sold cooked or dry-cured and ready for eating. Once gammon is cooked it can be called a ham and may be sold as a gammon ham."" If its bought in the raw state you can choose your own flavourings to coat it as it cooks.Delicious.
Aha! Now when I ask my meatman for "gammon" I can explain it to him. I'm sure he'll be thrilled. Thank you for the explanation--my dictionary is on temporary loan and I couldn't look it up.
i love fried green tomatoes. you can also chop them and use in any relish similar to tomatillos. like a mix of red and green tomatoes, pepper, onions and a little cilantro, vinegar and salt for a fresh salsa.
Once tomatoes start to turn color they are finished growing. Any tomatoes of some size can be harvested though. Because of my damp, cool climate green tomatoes are picked before the first frost since most tomatoes are still green once fall hits. (I don't get more than a few to ripen on the vine.) I set the picked tomatoes in boxes nested in newspaper one layer deep. We use them as they ripen and have had home grown tomatoes into December from the boxes. The skins may get a little thick towards the end, but the flavor is still better than store bought. I've also tried just pulling and hanging the vines with tomatoes on them. The tomatoes seem to get thicker skinned in my experiences so don't like this method as well, but it works OK. I just think it is a bit messier also.
