"Janet Bostwick" > wrote in
:

>
> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Did they ripen indoors or out? I wonder if a tomato that's ripened
>> under natural outdoor conditions might be better. Just curious.
>> --
>> -Barb (www.jamlady.eboard.com updated 10-16-03; check the PickleHats
>> tab,
> too.)
>
> That depends. If the tomatoes are ripened outdoors, during full
> summer conditions--long daylight and warm weather--they will be
> superior to anything ripened indoors. If however it is the end of the
> season, days are short, nights are quite cool, you will get a better
> flavor by ripening indoors. Choose tomatoes for indoor ripening that
> have at least begun to color toward white rather than all green. Of
> course in the case of impending frost gather as many as you can that
> have begun to turn from all dark green. The dark green ones will
> eventually ripen, but will be thin meated, probably mealy and

OR, forget about waiting for the green tomatoes to ripen and use them for
pickles, fried green tomatoes, or green tomato pie (dessert) instead.
You'll probably enjoy them more that way than the lackluster ripened
tomato they become.

Wayne

> flavorless. I use the end of season ones for evening meals as they
> ripen. To fully enjoy the flavor, rather than cooking the tomatoes
> for the entire length of the soup or casserole, toss them in at the
> end so that they just cook through. They will retain the flavor and
> aroma of fresh tomatoes. Also, when I have these tomatoes ripening a
> few at a time, I put them whole in zippered freezer bags and freeze.
> No need to thaw for use in soups and casseroles, just run them quickly
> under hot water and the peel slips right off. Let them rest for a
> minute or so on the cutting board and they thaw just enough to be able
> to cut through them with a chef's knife and then just drop the frozen
> pieces into the meal just at the last and you get the same aroma and
> flavor of fresh tomatoes. Janet
>
>
>