Fried Green Tomatoes: Recipes

I've done it again. I've planted way too many tomato plants over the summer which have produced a record bumper crop. I've given tomatoes away to my co-workers, my family, and even the postal carrier. As fall approaches, I've still got green tomatoes on the vine, and I don't want them to die off because of the frost.

There are a number of green tomato recipes available, such as green tomato pie, chicken with green tomatoes, and green tomato soup. However, I love the rich, flavorful taste of fried green tomatoes. Making fried green tomatoes is an excellent way to use up the green tomatoes on the vine.

After picking, slice your tomatoes thickly, about � thick. Discard or compost the end pieces, which do not hold the coating well. Cover with a light coating of flour (with a dash of salt and pepper added). Then dredge in a beaten egg mixture. (Allow the egg to drip off a bit - you don't want a tomato that's too wet.) Finally, coat the tomato with finely crushed saltine crackers.

If you find that the egg won't stick to your flour-dredged tomato, coat in egg first, then flour, then the saltine cracker mix. Frying green tomatoes is not an exact science, and is bound to be a messy and fun experiment in cooking.

Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a pan, and fry the tomatoes until they are golden on both sides. Be careful when you flip them so that the cracker mixture doesn't slide off the tomato. The outer crust should be crisp and firm, but not too brown. The tomatoes will be juicy and flavorful inside.

Traditionally a Southern dish, the fried green tomato gained country wide popularity after a heart-warming movie of the same name was released in 1991. Southern cooks include fried green tomatoes in sandwich recipes (usually using cornmeal instead of crushed saltine crackers), or as a side dish.

Variations of the common fried green tomato recipe abound. You can replace buttermilk for the eggs, giving you a creamier end product. Many Southern cooks use cornmeal instead of saltine crackers. For a spicier fried green tomato, add garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper to your dry mixture.

I've heard a myth that eating too many green tomatoes is detrimental to your health. I've never had confirmation of this fact, but contact your physician if you're concerned. In the meantime, I'll be frying up green tomatoes to share with my family and friends.