Fresh Pick of the Week: Green Tomatoes!

[Michael Carroll Green]

Although the 1991 movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, made them into a household name throughout the world, Green Tomatoes have a culinary history that goes well beyond the traditional Southern Side Dish. And that’s why Green Tomatoes are this week’s Fresh Pick of the Week at the valley’s three Certified Farmers’ Markets. 

Wang’s Farms, located on the North Shore of the Salton Sea, brings their tasty (and ever so popular) Shady Lady tomatoes to the market every week. But you may also notice a stack of Green Tomatoes on their table. Picked when they are full size, but still unripe, Green Tomatoes are prized by chefs and home cooks alike, and not just for frying. Green Tomatoes are a popular ingredient in all sorts of salsas, relishes, chow chows, chutney’s and crispy pickle recipes. The taste, and the texture of Green Tomatoes are both quite distinct from their ripened counterparts. They are crisp, often tangy, and hold their form, even when fried. 

Did you know: Green Tomotoes are a seasonal dish, and are typically only available during the tomato growing season, or at the end of the tomato growing season when all the remaining fruit on the tomato plants is harvested before frost. They tend not to be commercially available (year-round) like ripe tomotoes.

Price: $3 per pound