When I first started gardening, I’d end up with a bucketload of green tomatoes towards the end of the season as the weather began to cool. And it would feel like all that effort was wasted because a lot of it would, if I’m honest, end up on the compost heap! But nowadays I use a clever trick to ripen all those green tomatoes off the vine. All you need is a cardboard box, a banana, and some carefully chosen spots in your house to transform green tomatoes into totally ripe deliciousness in next to no time!
Whether you’re facing the onset of colder temperatures at the end of the season, or a truly brutal and unexpected case of blight that will hammer your tomato plants within a matter of days – this is a fab way to save those tomatoes before it’s too late!
Sort Your Green Tomatoes
Not every green tomato is created equal. If a tomato is pale green, maybe with the faintest blush starting at the blossom end of the fruit, it is what’s known as a mature green tomato, and it’s already got everything on board it needs to ripen fully – sugars, the lot. All it needs is time and warmth to take on its final colour, so fruits like these are our star candidates.
However if a tomato is rock hard and a really deep, solid green all over, chances are it’s simply too immature, and no amount of green-fingered-and-thumbed magic is going to turn it red. (Don’t worry though, because I’ve got a solution for fruits like these coming up in a bit!)
![Ripening tomatoes with a banana]()
A banana and a box are all you need to ripen green tomatoes
The Secret Ingredient to Ripening Green Tomatoes
So why does a banana, of all things, hold the key to ripe tomatoes? It’s down to a gas called ethylene. As fruit ripens, it naturally releases small amounts of this gas, and that gas signals to other fruits nearby to start ripening too.
Tomatoes make their own ethylene, but bananas (or apples for that matter, which work just as well as bananas, so use whatever’s to hand) are absolute powerhouses of the stuff. Shut a few green tomatoes in a box with one ripe banana or apple to concentrate that gas into a smaller space, and your tomatoes’ ripening process will be sent into overdrive!
Grab a shallow box or spare drawer and line it with a sheet of newspaper. Now add your mature green tomatoes in a single layer, stem-side down, and try to keep them from touching each other so that one dodgy tomato can’t take down its neighbours, and include your banana. Pop the lid on, or fold the flaps over loosely. We’re not looking for an airtight seal, just something that traps most of that ethylene in.
![Tomatoes in an eggbox]()
Smaller tomatoes can be ripened in egg boxes
Place the box somewhere warm and dark – a kitchen cupboard, spare room, or even under the bed. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a sunny windowsill for this. It’s warmth working its magic here, not light, so anywhere at room temperature works every bit as well, and keeps the box conveniently out of the way too.
Check every few days and pull out any tomatoes as they ripen so they don’t turn from ripe to rotten. Most mature green tomatoes will fully colour up within just one to two weeks using this method.
But what if you’ve ended up with an absolute mountain of green tomatoes? Well, the same trick scales up brilliantly – we just need to tweak things slightly.
For bigger batches, you can either wrap each tomato individually in newspaper before laying them in a box or crate, or if that seems too labour-intensive, just lay the tomatoes so they aren’t touching in between layers of newspaper. Either way, this will keep the ethylene that the tomato produces itself close to each fruit, while also preventing mould from spreading from one bad tomato to its neighbours – which, trust me, is a real risk when you’ve got this many in one place. Alternatively, if they’ll fit, lay tomatoes out into egg cartons, which will keep the fruits nicely separated from each other.
![Ripening tomatoes in a spiral]()
Tomatoes ripen at different rates depending on temperature
How to Accelerate or Delay Ripening
Temperature is basically a dial you can turn and use to your advantage to speed up or slow down your ripening toms. The warmer the spot, the faster tomatoes ripen. If you’ve got lots of green tomatoes you can keep one batch somewhere cooler, for example a shed or garage, at around, say, 50-55ºF (10-13ºC), then bring tomatoes into the warm as and when you’re ready to use them. That way you’re not inundated with too many ripe tomatoes all on the same day.
Tomatoes kept at around 60ºF (15ºC) will typically take about two weeks to fully ripen from that first hint of colour. But crank that up to 77ºF (25ºC) and you could be looking at half that time.
Just don’t be tempted to go hotter still, because too much heat can cause uneven ripening and shrivelled skins, potentially leading to soft or rotten fruits. Warm and steady wins the race here, and is the secret behind beautifully ripened but not soft and mushy tomatoes.
![Griddled green tomatoes]()
Griddled green tomatoes with whipped feta and chilli honey is quick to make and tastes amazing!
An Irresistible Green Tomato Recipe
Now, back to those stubborn, rock-hard tomatoes. If you slice one in half, you’ll see how the flesh looks dense and a bit like an apple, with little or no gel forming around the seeds. These tomatoes will never turn red. But if you’ve got a good few of these on your hands, don’t despair, because here’s a brilliantly quick way to use them up.
You’ve probably heard of fried green tomatoes – and my goodness are they tasty! – but let’s try something a little different, and a lot quicker: griddled green tomatoes with whipped feta and a chilli honey drizzle.
They only take about ten minutes to make. Start by slicing up your green tomatoes into rounds, about a quarter of an inch (0.5 cm) thick. Brush both sides with a little extra-virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place them onto a hot griddle pan or barbecue. They’ll take a couple of minutes each side until they get those gorgeous char lines, by which time the slices will have just about softened.
While that’s happening, whip up in a blender a block of feta with a couple of tablespoons of Greek-style yoghurt, a pinch of salt, the juice of half a lemon, some lemon zest, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil till it’s soft and spreadable. Spread that over a plate, then arrange those griddled tomatoes on top. And to finish, drizzle on honey mixed with a pinch of chilli flakes and a scattering of fresh basil or mint from the garden. Sweet, smoky, salty, with just enough heat – yum!
