Ripening Tomatoes on the vine

The threat of freezing temperatures in the fall has gardeners scrambling to harvest all green tomatoes that may be a few weeks away from regular harvest. You may opt to prepare fried green tomatoes or to ripen the fruits indoors, still a tastier alternative to store-bought tomatoes.

Pick green tomatoes that show a tinge of color at the blossom (bottom) end and feel a little softer than hard dark green fruits.  Remove twigs, stems, leaves etc. that could rub or damage the skin during storage.

Inspect all fruits for decay or mold and immediately discard all bad ones. The cooler the storage area for the tomatoes, the longer the ripening process will take.

Tomatoes ripen naturally on the kitchen countertop away from direct sunlight and extremes of heat and cold; set fruits on their shoulders rather than on their blossom ends. Another popular technique is to ripen green tomatoes in a plastic or paper bag, or wrap each in newspaper and store in an enclosed plastic or cardboard box. Allow 7-14 days for ripening at home room temperature. Some long-keeping tomato varieties may take longer.

To speed the ripening process, add slices of ripe apples or bananas; ripened fruits naturally release ethylene gas. Skin color (red, pink, purple or yellow) changes occur several days earlier by this method. Peek inside the container every 2-3 days. Trucking companies often utilize ethylene gas to ripen early-harvested tomatoes, bananas, pears and other orchard grown fruits en route to the supermarket.

Green tomatoes can be fried, as in “fried green tomatoes”, or pickled, made into salsa, green tomato jam, soups, green ketchup, and added to pasta sauces.