Don't Throw Out the Green Tomatoes: Sort, Ripen, and Use Them Before the Frost

By early September, many tomato plants are done giving. The vines slow down, the nights get cool, and a pile of hard green fruit is still sitting out there. It can be tempting to call it a loss and let it rot when the frost comes. It is not a loss. Most of that pile is usable, and some of it is genuinely good.

The first frost will ruin any tomato left on the vine, so you want to pull them before that. Once they are inside, break the pile into two jobs. Some tomatoes can still ripen on your counter, and the rest are worth eating and preserving green. Both are simple, and both keep you from wasting a season's work.

Here is how to sort them, ripen the keepers, and use the rest before the frost gets them.

Sort First: Not Every Green Tomato Can Ripen

Before you do anything, spend ten minutes sorting the harvest. This one step decides whether the rest of the process works.

A tomato can only ripen off the vine if it was already mature when you picked it. Mature green tomatoes look dull and pale, more whitish-green than bright green, and they feel full and firm. If they have even a hint of pink or yellow at the blossom end, that is a great sign. These will keep ripening indoors.

Tomatoes that are small and rock-hard and still a deep, bright green were picked too early. They will not really ripen. They may soften and turn a little orange, but they will not develop much flavor. Do not waste a month waiting on them.

So sort into three piles:

• Keeper ripening tomatoes: mature, pale, full sized, or already showing color. These go on the counter.
• Green-only tomatoes: firm green fruit you will cook or preserve. These include the small hard ones.
• Damaged or rotting tomatoes: anything bruised, splitting, or soft. Do not store these with the keepers, because one bad tomato will spoil the ones next to it.

Ripen the Keepers Indoors

Here is the main thing people get wrong: tomatoes do not ripen in the sun. They ripen on warmth and on a gas they give off themselves called ethylene. Sunlight can actually give you uneven, sunburned patches and a mealy result.

The right setup is simple and does not need any equipment:

1. Keep the tomatoes at room temperature, roughly 65 to 75 degrees. A counter away from direct sun is fine.
2. Leave the stems on. A tomato keeps ripening best with the stem intact.
3. Set the tomato stem side up, or on its side, with a little space between fruits so air can move.
4. Check the pile every day or two. Pull out anything that has ripened, and pull out anything that starts to soften and mold. Rot spreads fast in a tomato pile.

If you want them sooner, close them up in a brown paper bag or a cardboard box with one ripe banana or a ripe apple. The banana and the apple give off ethylene, same as the tomato, and that speeds the group along. Punch a couple of small holes in the bag so the fruit can breathe, and check it daily.

Two timing notes. First, do not put unripe tomatoes in the refrigerator. The cold stops the ripening process and dulls the flavor. Wait until a tomato is actually ripe before it goes in the fridge. Second, be patient with the timing. A mature green tomato can take a week or two to turn at room temperature, and that is normal. You are not doing anything wrong if it is slow.

Know When Ripening Is Not Worth It

The small, hard, bright-green tomatoes from your sort are never going to be a good eating tomato. Ripening them is a waste of counter space and a month of waiting for a bland, pale result.

That is not the same as throwing them out. It just means they belong in the cooking pile instead of the ripening pile. Firm green tomatoes cook better than you might expect, which is the point of the next two sections.

Put the Rest to Work While They Are Still Green

Firm green tomatoes have a tang, a tart bite, and a firm texture that ripe tomatoes do not. People have eaten them green for a long time, and the classic ways are worth knowing.

Fried green tomatoes are the simplest. Slice them about a quarter inch thick, dip in seasoned flour or cornmeal, and pan fry in a little oil until golden on both sides. The coating and the heat soften the sourness and give you a crunchy, savory side. This is a good way to use up the medium ones.

Green tomato chutney turns a big pile into a pantry staple. Green tomatoes, onion, vinegar, sugar, and spices cooked down into a thick, tangy relish is a natural fit for the fall table, and it goes well with eggs, cheese, and meat. Because it holds acid from the vinegar, it is the kind of thing you can process safely in a water bath using a tested recipe.

Pickled green tomatoes are another classic. Sliced green tomatoes brined with vinegar and pickling seasonings make a crisp, tart pickle. Some versions are kept in the refrigerator, and others are water-bath processed. Both are good ways to make the harvest last.

A Quick Word on Eating Green Tomatoes

A small honesty note, because you will read scary things about this. Green tomatoes contain a natural compound called solanine, which is the same family of compounds found in some other nightshade plants. At the level found in unripe green tomatoes, and eaten in normal amounts, it is not considered a real health risk for most people. Cooking also reduces it further.

The sensible rule is the same as for many foods: enjoy them in reasonable amounts, and do not make a whole meal out of raw green tomatoes. There is no reason to be afraid of fried green tomatoes, a pickle, or a spoonful of chutney.

Preserve Them the Safe Way

If you are going to can any green tomato product, follow a tested recipe and do not improvise the acid.

• For chutneys, relishes, and pickles, the acidity comes from vinegar. Do not reduce the vinegar to make a product "less sour." The safety depends on it.
• Use a specific, tested recipe from a trusted source, such as a university extension or the National Center for Home Food Preservation, rather than a random blog method.
• Water-bath processing is only for high-acid foods. Most green tomato chutneys and vinegar pickles qualify.
• A refrigerator pickle is the easiest, lowest-risk option. It does not need processing, it just has to stay cold and be eaten within a few weeks.

If you already water-bath can, the steps will feel familiar. If you are new to it and want to keep things simple, start with fried green tomatoes and a refrigerator pickle, and leave the canning for another day.

The Short Version

When the frost is coming, pull the tomatoes and sort them. The mature, pale ones go in a warm room to ripen slowly, with a ripe banana in a paper bag if you are in a hurry. The small hard ones and the cracked ones go into the cooking pile, where they become fried green tomatoes, chutney, or pickles. Nothing has to go to waste, and the season ends with a pantry, not a compost pile.

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— C. Steward 🍅