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Question by Jessica S: how can i get my green tomatoes to turn red?
my neighbors kids picked some green ones off the vines, and we dont like fried green tomatoes, but dont want them to go to waste! ive already tried putting them in my window, and putting in paper bags and newspaper and putting in a cool place, but it didnt work!! anybody got any more suggestions? something that will work please!!!
Best answer:
Answer by mentalvalor
“If you find that your tomatoes fall off the vine, either knocked off or due to frost, before they turn red, you can place the unripe tomatoes in a paper bag. Provided that the green tomatoes have reached the mature green stage, the paper bag will trap the ethylene and will help to ripen the tomatoes.”
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Sorry, but if they are immature they won’t ripen off the vine.
You could compost them. (At least they won’t be wasted).
I’ve heard of making salsa verde, green salsa with green tomatoes instead of tomatillos but I’ve never tried it. Here’s a recipe. It looks like it would be pretty easy to make just one pint to test whether or not you’d like it.
Green Salsa
Yield: 5 pints
5 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 1/2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
1/2 cup seeded finely chopped jalapeños
4 cups chopped onions
1 cup bottled lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
3 Tbsp oregano leaves *
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and stir frequently over high heat until mixture begins to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot salsa into pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water canner 15 minutes at 0-1,000 feet altitude; 20 minutes at 1,001-6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet.
If they were picked too early in the growing process they will never turn red.