Green uncooked tomatoes are rumored to be toxic. I made this video about the subject. What do you all think of this topic? I've once made a green tomato sauce and didn't feel very good after eating it. But small quantities of fried green tomatoes seem to be ok for me. Do you have any experience with eating green tomatoes? [youtube]watch?v=w2nKA1wmgmQ[/youtube]
Unripe tomatoes and green tomatoes are not always the same thing. There are some varieties of tomatoes that are green when ripe Zebra Rita, Green Zebra, Green Giant, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Lime Green Salad are a few. I would use the naturally green tomatoes for salsa, sauce and eating raw. From what I have read, the unripe tomatoes used for frying should be mature and just about to get a red tinge, not ones that are really unripe. Unripe red tomatoes still have toxins in them that can cause digestive problems.
toni, Those are very important points. I guess when I made my green tomato sauce with unripe tomatoes they were too green and that's probably I felt a bit of nausea.
Green tomatoes are in no way toxic to people. They do contain glycoalkaloids that can upset the stomach if too green. ( Halfway or less to the ripe stage.) I make relish from all green tomatoes at years end but I cook mine with a bit of vinegar, sugar, and water then drain the liquid to get rid of the terrible taste they have when too green. I tried making it without cooking them but the taste was so bad I couldn`t eat it. The tomatoes plants are toxic to livestock but not the tomatoes themselves.
I made green tomato salsa after I cleaned out the greenhouse last Fall. We have eaten nearly all of it and never felt a tinge of stomach ache. I actually like it better than red tomato salsa. green tomato salsa ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) I know that green Potatoes are toxic. If they are exposed to sunlight they create a substance called solanine, but I think you would have to eat a lot to get really sick.
From what I have read cooking the underripe tomatoes takes care of any ill affects, so a cooking process and frying them should render them safe.
Green when ripe tomatoes are excellent. Try some if you haven't yet. I have a seed for an unmarketed one if you are interested. You can't sell it or name it or claim it. It is part of a project for another site that develops dwarf open pollinated tomatoes. I can't guarantee that all of the tomatoes will taste the same and most likely some will be better than others if you grow a dozen of them. I accidentally mixed some of the seeds together and I couldn't send them back. Anyone is welcome to a few of them...just PM me and I'll drop a few in the mail.
green tomato relish, salsa, and pickles are some really outstanding things to do with the end of the season fruit the day before the killing frost.
And if you have an abundance of green tomatoes when a cold snap is coming, you can simply wipe them off with a dry paper towel, lay them on a few layers of newspaper (that's to absorb any liquids that leak from damaged/diseased ones that slip by your eagle eye) and they will ripen. We have ripe tomatoes on the table for Christmas and, with luck, for New Year's Day dinners.
I read just recently to use diluted VINEGAR as a dip for fruits and vegetables when you bring them home before you put them in the refidgerator and it will "keep" the fruits and vegetables much longer because it kills the mold and any bacteria on the skin. I tried it with strawberries last week and they did keep much better in the fridge... So, I am certain it would work well for tomatoes, too. I just saw a new product that is peroxide based that you wash your root vegetables with before storing to make them keep much longer, too. Everything helps!
This is totally news to me. I've been around 79 years and never heard that green tomatoes are toxic. The green on potatoes, yes. Regarding the vinegar wash, I pour white vinegar in the water for washing any vegetable or fruit. Our peas grew really tall, above the fence and the wind blew them over, creating an area where there was barely any air passage. The peas growing in the area where the vines bent had a slight mold forming on them. I considered saving them for seed, but I think it's not worth the risk.
I've made green tomato relish for years and had not problems. The relish is boiled for a while before canning so that may be the reason. That's one thing I always make.
