I was amused by a conversation with QuantumVegan’s about harvesting fifty pounds of tomatoes. That's a LOT of tomatoes! When we lived in Vermont that kind of a harvest was sure to mean we were getting green tomatoes. The growing season is so short there tomatoes don't always have time to ripen. So you come up with lots of good ways to use green tomatoes. There's green tomato pie, green tomato salsa, the ubiquitous fried green tomatoes, and more. Luckily green tomatoes have lots of nutrition, including lycopene.
Nutritional Profile
According to the USDA, the nutritional profile of green and red tomatoes is almost the same. Green tomatoes have twice the vitamin C, more vitamin K, and more calcium. Red tomatoes have more vitamin A, E, and potassium.
Apparently, they have the same amount of lycopene and it is believed that the chlorophyll in the green tomatoes hides the red pigment which indicates a lycopene-rich food.
Recipe
Green tomatoes are versatile and can be made into pie (it's delicious, trust me), pasta sauce, and all manner of preserved goods.
If you're getting close to the end of your growing season and you're looking at a large crop of green tomatoes, here's my favorite way to use them up; green tomato chutney. It goes very well with cheese and crackers, it is excellent with cold roast meats, delicious as a side to a spicy vegetarian lentil dish, it's a very versatile condiment to have in your pantry. This recipe is based on one from Fancy Pantry which appears to be out of print. I find it to be a good book with lots of wonderful recipes and well worth having. But in the meantime here's my version:
Green Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
- 4 pounds green tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
- 4 pounds green apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 2 C. yellow onions, minced
- 2 C. raisins
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 C. evaporated cane juice crystals
- 1 1/2 C. raw apple cider vinegar
- 3 T. minced fresh ginger
- 2 T. mustard seed
- 1 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
- 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large stock pot mix together tomatoes, apples, onions, raisins, garlic, cane juice crystals, salt, and vinegar.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Continue to boil for approximately 30 minutes continuing to stir frequently. The fruits will begin to soften and meld together.
- Add the spices.
- Boil for another 10-15 minutes until you reach the consistency you want.
- Ladle into hot sterile jars and seal according to directions.
- Bath for 10 minutes remove and let cool.
Notes
This recipe needs to settle to allow all of the flavors to come together. Let it sit in a cool dark space for at least a month before opening.