What are green tomatoes? There are two kinds of green tomatoes. One is an unripe red tomato. The other is a green tomato that stays green. Either way, they both are perfect for fried green tomatoes.
Fried green tomatoes is a common side dish in served throughout the south. Why do southerners eat a green tomato? Because when the temperatures exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the tomatoes will stop coloring. Local farmers had no choice but to pick the green fruit. The taste of a green tomato is sour but will change when it is cooked in high heat. It is not uncommon to find green tomatoes in small farmers markets and even some larger supermarket stores throughout the southern part of the United States.
Large commercial tomato farmers will also pick their tomatoes green and will take them to facility and will artificially ripen these by using ethylene gas which will force the tomatoes to turn red. These are usually what you will find in your local supermarket.
Martha Baggett’s Fried Green Tomatoes
Equipment
- Stock pot
- slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 6 medium firm green tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup Canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Prepare a plate or a cookie sheet with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Pour oil in a deep pan. Heat up while mixing the breading mix. Oil needs to be very hot.
- Wash tomatoes and dry with a paper towel.
- Thinly slice green tomatoes. Put all of the tomatoes in a separate bowl. Sprinkle with water to wet them.
- Mix flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a elongated plastic bowl.
- Dip tomatoes one by one in the dry batter mix.
- Dip breaded tomatoes into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Using a slotted spoon, turn tomatoes over on the other side and cook until they have a golden brown color – about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove the cooked tomatoes from the pan and let them rest on the paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with additional salt if you prefer.