Hi Glen, Jules, I love your videos. Please, if you have more recipes with green tomatoes. Here we are starting spring, but in 6 months, I will have lots of them. I would like to know other ways to eat them (I make jam). And, if you grow tomatoes in your garden, I recommend growing Cherrys late in the season, they don't need a lot of heat or sun to be ready ( I picked cherry tomatoes until August a in Argentina). Scuse my english. Un gran abrazo desde Bs As.Salud y felicidad😆🤗
I don't garden, but my grandmother from Nova Scotia would make a green tomato chow. It was a sweet relish with green tomato, onions, sugar, and spices. We would go to a pick your own tomato place at the end of the season and get a real deal on green tomatoes. We would all gather in the kitchen and do a production line and can as much as we could. It was delicious on hot dogs, hamburgers, and a whole lot more.
I moved to the US South 30 years ago. When I first heard that people eat green tomatoes I thought they were crazy. I tried fried green tomatoes once when I was still a teenager and thought they were disgusting. Weirdly, now I think they are delicious.
I slice and pickle them in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic slices, oregano and red pepper flakes. It's a refrigerator recipe and the longer they sit the tastier they get! I make sandwiches with them or use them as an accompaniment to meals or snacks. Delicious!
@christ1313 just think all of the history that has since been forgotten. There's probably alot of notable things and events that we never written down.
Speaking of 'fooling' people into thinking it's apple pie; in Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical book series, she recalls a Christmas where her mother Caroline put a pie on the table after Christmas dinner, and her father *swore* it was apple ("*Where* did you find *apples*?!?")-- She finally fesses up and admits that it was "thinly sliced green pumpkin"!!
I will guarantee you 99.999 out of 100 Americans never heard of "Aunt Sammy". The only reason I knew about it was an old radio program about her probably back in the 1970s. The only way I can stand green tomatoes is in relish. Fried green tomatoes are disgusting.
If you want a good recipe for green tomatoes this is it GREEN TOMATO KETCHUP 4 c. ground onion 4 c. ground green tomatoes 6 sweet red peppers, ground 12 green bell peppers, ground 4 c. ground cabbage 6 c. sugar 2 tbsp. mustard seed 4 c. vinegar 1/2 c. salt 1 tbsp. celery seed 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric 2 c. water Grind vegetables using blender or coarse blade of grinder. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup salt. Let stand overnight. Rinse and drain. Combine with remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Simmer 3 minutes. Place in sterile jars and seal. About 8 pints.
We had a restaurant here in St Louis that occassionally would do a green tomato pie, and the spicery was just like a traditional apple pie, it was fantastic. I wasn't sure how I would like it because it's green tomatoes, but it had fantastic flavor.
I also don't believe it needs lemon juice. Green tomatoes are quite sour on their own. Really, this recipe looks like they just subbed green tomatoes into a basic apple pie recipe. I remember it tasting rather strongly of clove too, which I always think of as going well with raisins and orange peel. Sadly, green tomatoes are hard to come by without a garden of my own, so I won't be reliving those memories any time soon.
Yep, the family friend who made introduced us to it always added raisins too, and she used half apples half green tomatoes. It was also had a slightly different spice profile than a standard apple pie. It was delicious
I'm an American and knowledgable about American history, but I had no idea about Aunt Sammie, either, but you're right that sounds like a good idea to localize it.
It was not only a good idea, it was technically an imperative. Tape recording didn't exist in the US for another 15 years. Records of the day played over the radio sounded pretty bad, and were obvious. There basically weren't broadcast "networks" at that time as we understand them now. Radio was still only about 10 years old. Pretty much all radio programming was local. Listening to a radio station far away (like a couple hundred miles) was known as "DX reception" and was only practical during certain hours of the night and in certain seasons.
Interesting recipe. What if you used the zest of lemon along with the juice. By the way, I have never heard of Aunt Sammie. I never heard my grandparents mention any reference I am 65 years old so grandparents went back to WWI period. Learn something everyday 🤔🙃
American here who has heard of Uncle Sam a lot... never once in my life have I heard of aunt sammie. Honestly even Uncle Sam was a historical war time propaganda figure, not really used or prominent today beyond in a historical context.
I am from near Indianapolis and here most dont know about using green tomatoes, but my family does a thin sliced green tomatoes almost like a chip but thinker about 6mm to 9mm. I wash the slices leaving them a little wet, then tos them in 1 cup APL 1/2 cup corn starch, pepper salt. Then skillet or deep fry until the sides and seed are a deep brown. The carry over cooking does not last as long as potatoes chips. My Uncle would so zucchini cucumbers and yellow squash that way to. A southern cook from the USA would day they are nothing like southern fried green tomatoes but ours are so good but get soggy quick
I love green tomato pie! I always use brown sugar and mace, but I think I'll make one today with some tweaks from this recipe (cinnamon, lemon juice, & zest)!
@@asilverfoxintasmania9940 the brown sugar really is nice, and I find nutmeg or especially mace plays really well with the flavor of the green tomatoes-- it really brings out the apple - like flavor :)
I have used my last harvest green tomatoes as a neutral fruit to make jam. I cook it like you did but without lemon until tender then I add a fruit flavor by way of Kool-Aid or Jello and cook it down more with sugar and a drop or so of food coloring if needed. I think peach jello is my favorite flavor so far. I have also done this jam with watermelon rind minus the skin as the neutral fruit.
I would bet the lemmons were smaller then, I would probably remove some of the tomato seeds to cut down on the liquid. in addition to your suggestions.
It is sometimes in mincemeat pie filling. It disappears among the other fruit and spices. I followed the tomato pie recipe last night. Strangely, the green tomatoes took on a rhubarb-like aroma and taste when prepared that way.
The tomato pie looks like it would be really good with some modifications so I agree I would love to see you make it again having you change the recipe with what you would include glen.
Also had lots of green tomatoes in my kitchen garden in Ottawa this fall and made the mock apple pie yesterday. It was outside of my comfort zone to replace apples with green tomatoes, but I was intrigued. I learned from you…and added lemon juice and some zest instead of a half of a lemon. I also put two heaping teaspoons of cinnamon, some nutmeg and a bit of pumpkin spice, since I couldn’t find allspice. I put in 4-5 Tablespoons of cornstarch. I always lattice my apple pies, so I put on a egg wash and sprinkled latticed top with sugar. It was delish!!! Mouth feel and taste like apple pie!!!! Fooled everyone!!!!! When I put the filling into the pie (didn’t par-bake), I thought the liquid would destroy the bottom crust. When I took the pie out of the oven, the filling came out in liquid form….but as soon as I cut into the pie 15-20 mins later, the liquid became thick like apple sauce! It is a very delicious way to use up garden green tomatoes! Thanks for the inspiration, Glen!!
i upmodded you, but blech! all that sugar. no thank you. i'll go for fried green tomato sandwiches, or variations thereof. i'm 58, and my grandfather made those. they were the best! he had a small urban garden right next to his tool shed. i used to love "helping" him garden, lol!
American. Never heard of Aunt Sammy. Thanks for the recipe. My grandfather loved fried green tomatoes. My mom made a green tomato pie but don't remember her adding lemon.
The pie filling reminds me of roasted green chile or a tomatillo green sauce. This pie recipe is inspiring me to make a savory meat pie with a green sauce.
Glen, my wife loves the old cookbook show, and I admit-I like it also-but I also miss all your mad scientist series stuff, especially your Cola and Fried Chicken stuff. That Coke series was really fascinating. We’re big fans of your stuff all around though. Thanks for the hard work.
How did the cinnamon go with the tomatoes? It just seems like a weird combination, but then I've never have had green tomatoes before. Definitely an interesting recipe, and your pie looked great even with just the plan top crust :D
Oh, and Aunt Sammie isn't a thing in American history. Uncle Sam was a confirmed bachelor. Granted what little I know about Uncle Sam comes from The Freedom Fighters in DC Comics (formerly owned by Quality Comics. And before that all the war posters during and after World War Two. When you explained how Aunt Sammy was a different person in every community, that sounds like a bad scam which Americans would quickly thumb their nose at. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but if it did it would have been a short lived thing that quickly fell out of favor when the friendly neighborhood local voice turned out to just be reading from the same federal script. Americans used to be weird about things like that. Now we prefer "national" news to local, which feels kind of unamerican to me, but i'm guilty of it too.
My grandmother made what she called mince meat pie out if green tomatoes. Here where I live, it's just as likely to have a slice of green tomato served as a riper one...seems odd because I'm in the tropics (now) and there really is no shorter day caused by winter.
Hey Glen, 👋 would you know any recipes for a green tomato salsa or a relish. My grandmother made it with her mother way back in the 50’s. But she’s up there in age and can’t remember exact ingredients for the recipes. Thanks.
Just want to comment that the sound on your videos is really quiet good. As a RU-vid creator (albeit a small one) I've always appreciated and enjoyed the luxurious sounds of Glen. 😉
My Grandma made this ALL the time when i was younger! It's my favorite pie!! except she did not use lemon in her's. And she didn't cook her's ahead of time. She just tossed in sugar, cinnamon tapioca and placed it in a pie shell, top with with an upper crust and bake. Top the crust with some sugar. I would try the pie again and leave out the lemon. The pie always as a slight tartness to it because of the acid in the tomatoes. I LOVE the pie!
Grew up with green tomato pie in northwest Connecticut, EXCEPT treated fruit like apples (removing seeds and "jelly" adding raisins Baked 15 mins 450 oven then 1 hour 350.Comes out like a mincemeat pie. Makes a great deep dish pie, serve warm.
I don't know your channel, but I, too, love old cook books...in the South here, they were often published by churches. I am planning a restaurant cuisine based on very old-timey Southern cooking, and I found you by hypothesizing that a green tomato pie or casserole exists and then looking for it. Anywho, since you are from Canada and you're looking for green tomato recipes, I just thought I would make sure you're aware of chow chow (which is divine when made well and from scratch). I love it on angel biscuits used like preserves.
I've always wanted to try green tomato mincemeat, but never have enough tomatoes. You might want to try tapioca as a thickener (use the small pearls, or buzz it in a coffee grinder). It might also benefit from a lattice crust and cook off some of the juices. Yeah, apple pie wannabe. Cinnamon, nutmeg, small touch of ginger... Btw, I'm 66, mid-continent U.S., collect old cookbooks and pamphlets, and Aunt Sammy is new to me!
No thanks I'll stick with my fried green tomato with sweet Vidalia onion sauce topping, less time less hassle and no runny ingredients.! Or my green tomato pizza.!!
I think the lemon you used was quite large. Probably would have used 1/4 of that lemon or eliminated the pith. I agree that an egg wash would have brightened up the crust even though I thought you did a wonderful job. Looks tasty. I’d be curious, Glen, what spice combination you would use when remaking?
I think this is a great way to use up the green tomatoes and agree on the zesting and lemon juice instead of slices. Might fool peeps more if in chunks instead of slices and mixed-in with a bit of another fruit that has seeds (raspberries, blackberries, ground cherries). Never heard of Aunt Sammy, but I barely understand Uncle Sam too (Montrea l, Canada here). Love your videos. Tfs.
I grew up with and love Green Tomato pie since it was a specialty my granny often made. Her recipe and process varied a bit from yours, but still the same idea. It's always fun to see someone try it for the first time. Love your channel!!!
Born in 1965. Never heard of Aunt Sammy. On the flavor profile: another factor is expectations from 90 years ago in the depression would have been radically different.
As far as the lemon slices go, I tend to think that the recipe intended for the lemons to stay in the filling, else, why not just use lemon juice and/or zest? Really, cooked lemon slices are very, very tasty, and that's totally including the pith. The bitter pith absolutely transforms when fully cooked. Howeverr, and I understand the recipe was lacking in detail, I think that the lemons should be sliced very thinly, much more thinly than the green tomatoes. I would use a mandolin and make them one step above paper thin. Catch the juice though: the peel and pith can be sliced like this, but the flesh cannot. That way, the cooked lemon zest and pith can remain in the filling, and so thinly sliced, it should break up quite effectively.
Wow! I never heard of Aunt Sammy! I grew up in California. I'm going to ask around among my friends. We might be too young since we were post-depression.
My mother’s green tomato pie is… cube the tomatoes mix in cinnamon and cloves . She used flour to thicken mix and put in a regular shell . Bake for one hour and it taste like apple pie ! Cold warm and cold in the refrigerator.
Having just recently discovered the wonders of fried green tomatoes, I'd be inclined to aim for that flavor profile in the pie recipe, and mayhap melt some cheeses over the top of the pie towards the end of the baking... definitely omitting/drastically reducing the lemon 🍋
I've made green tomato pie for many years as a way to use up those that don't ripen. We call it "Summer Apple Pie" because it fools everyone into thinking it is apple pie. The recipe I use does not call for lemons, a green tomato is sour as it is. Furthermore, I cut the tomatoes in chunks and remove some of the seeds (mostly what falls off the chunks) and thus you remove some of the moisture, making it not runny at all. I would suggest to not give up on this pie, great way to use up tomatoes, just modify the recipe. BTW, add me to the list of "Americans who never heard of Aunt Sammy". Cheers!
I've never heard of Aunt Sammy but I'm not quite old enough to have heard radio shows. I've made green tomato mincemeat and used that in pies. It has apples, raisins, nuts and lots of spices. I'd ditch the lemons, chop the tomatoes, drain them and cook everything with the sauce. Blind baking the bottom crust helps keep fruit pies from having a soggy bottom crust.
My Grandparents had a huge garden during the Depression and WWII. If it didn't get eaten right away Grandma would can it. My Dad told me how she never let green tomatoes go to waste. She made green tomato pie, fried green tomatoes (my favorite), relish and green tomato pickles. They ate well because of the garden, fruit trees, various berries, and nut trees. Nothing went to waste; even the watermelon rinds were pickled!
I would guess that the bitterness comes from the lemon... so often I see or hear of stuffing a chicken with wedges of lemon, but when I try it, it will always make the gravy taste bitter. Burned/overheated lemonjuice, but especially lemonrind will taste bitter, so maybe next time just add the juice of a lemon instead of the whole?
My grandma used to make this she used a regular apple pie recipe . the tomatoes added a tangy taste unlike apples . my friend ate 3 pieces of one she sent me and said it was the best apple pie ever. when i told him it was green tomato . it blew his mind . lol. thx for making it I dont remember any lemon in it either.
My great aunt made a green tomato pie years ago.. It was very good. Tasted a lot like apple pie.. She added a lot of sugar.. I don't think she put any lemons.. and give a bit of history.. She said back in the dirty 30's when she was growing up, her mother couldn't get any apples.. so that where the green tomato came along.. They used what they had. Her tomatoes seems more firmed. I think Glen pie is normal it can be runny.
Grandma used to have a recipe she wrote down from the show. That’s the only reason I knew about Aunt Sammy. Never knew it was Uncle Sam’s wife. ( Haven’t been able to put in a garden for some time, but I will try to get some green tomatoes at the farmers market to try this with some changes.)
My grandmother used to make a green tomato apple pie. It wasn't my favorite, but much of the family liked it. I'm a fan of staying with the apple, lol .
I've made many green tomato pies because how much chow chow does one need? I have to admit the lemon surprised me - never used it. The recipe that I followed was my favorite apple pie recipe, with tomatoes subbed for apples. I actually prefer this to apple pies. Everyone should give this recipe a try, consider yourself lucky to have access to green tomatoes!
I'm American and I've never heard of Aunt Sammy. Of course I didn't grow up during the Great Depression, but my parents did and they never mentioned her. I wonder how green tomatoes would taste as a substitute in tomato pie? We never have a lot of green tomatoes so I usually make fried green tomatoes in the airfryer. I've seen them canned, not sure how they taste.
I would be tempted to put golden raisins in there, they're help absorb some of the excess liquid and taste delicious. Also nix the cinnamon, and put in some ground coriander!
Hi Glen, I make a mock apple pie out of zucchini that tastes remarkably like apple pie. It is peeled and sliced and boiled until tender with spices and you could use it with a shortbread bottom and crumble top or as a pie filling with traditional crust. So ingenious, just like using green tomatoes. Waste not, want not.
My Grandmother made Green Tomato Preserves, which were made with the same ingredients you used except without the flour and spices. In fact I made the Preserves a couple of weeks ago. She did not use the ends and removed all seeds if any in the Lemon slices, which she cut in half. No Lemon Juice was added . She left her Lemon slices in, and used more Sugar which also thicken the juices from the Tomato. Since it is a pie yes I would use the flour and spice. I plan on trying it tonight!
Okay Glen, I had about a kilo of green tomatoes in my backyard and decided to give this recipe a go. I have to say, what a bad recipe. It was like eating ketchup pie. 0/10 would not try it again. Next year I'm making fried green tomatoes instead lol!
