How to Turn a Green Tomato Red

You have green tomatoes hanging on the vine and your plants are withering in the summer heat. Maybe you were on vacation or forgot to water the tomatoes, but the fruit is still salvageable. With the right care, a green tomato can be a red tomato in just a few days.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brown Paper Bag
• Green Tomatoes

1. Water the dying plant. Before choosing to ripen a green tomato, make sure the plant cannot be saved. Watering the plant and adding a bit of plant food to the soil may bring the roots back to life again and the tomato can then ripen on the vine

2. Pick the green tomato. If the vine is not responsive to the watering, pick the green tomato keeping the top stem attached if possible. The green tomato will be resilient, but handle it with care to avoid bruising. The bigger the green tomato, the better the chance the green tomato will ripen.

3. Place the green tomato in the brown paper bag. Do not wash the tomato before placing it in the brown paper bag. Immediately after picking the fruit, place the green tomato in the brown paper bag and roll the top closed. Place the brown paper bag on the counter. Each tomato should be placed in a separate brown paper bag.

4. Wait for a few days. After a few days, open the brown paper bag and check on the green tomato. By this time there should be a change in color to an orange or red hue. The tomato can be placed back in the brown paper bag until the full change to red occurs.

5. Eating a green tomato. The green tomato does not have to be red to eat. Fried green tomatoes are safe to eat and wonderful to enjoy.

[mavenaps]

on 7/24/2009 nice article................

[mommyhen42]

on 7/16/2009 Very true, contrary to popular belief Tomatoes are in the nightshade family and only ripen in the dark