How To Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors the Really Easy Way

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Green Tomatoes Harvested on 10-17-09

While you're waiting for your green tomatoes to ripen—or if you have a lot of immature ones, which probably won't ripen—you could turn some of them into my no sugar, so easy, salsa-like green tomato relish, which is one of my most popular recipes.

Will green tomatoes get ripe and turn red after picking them (or yellow or orange, depending on the variety)? Yes.

Is it difficult to get tomatoes to ripen off the vine? No.

Do you have to pull up the whole tomato plant and bring it inside? No.

Do you have to do anything special to get green tomatoes to ripen? No.

Do they have to be kept at a specific and/or steady temperature? No.

Will tomatoes ripened indoors taste as good as vine-ripened garden tomatoes? Probably not, but any homegrown tomatoes are going to taste better than no homegrown tomatoes—especially if you're enjoying them on Thanksgiving or Christmas. And they'll still probably taste better than storebought tomatoes, especially if you're buying them at Christmas.

Getting Redder by 11-7-09

I've read about all sorts of rules and tricks and special ways to get green tomatoes to ripen off the vine, including everything from hanging entire tomato plants upside down in a dark basement to wrapping each tomato individually in newspaper and gently layering them in a cardboard box with an apple or a banana.

But I'm a lazy, busy gardener, and just the thought of carefully wrapping dozens of green tomatoes in newspaper—and then unwrapping and rewrapping them every couple of days to see if they've ripened or rotted yet—makes me start to twitch. I also don't have a basement. But there's good news!

I've found that if you're willing to risk losing a few, none of this stuff is necessary.

Over the years I've learned my own green tomato ripening trick: just bring them inside and set them on the counter, and eventually they'll turn red. Yep, that's pretty much it.

How fast your green tomatoes will ripen depends on what variety they are, what stage of growth they were at when you picked them, and the what temperature and humidity they're stored at. It can take anywhere from several days to several weeks.

Some people say green tomatoes have to be shiny or they won't ever ripen. Or maybe it's that they have to not be shiny. I can't remember—and if I go looking for the information again I know I'll never finish this post, because that's what happened last October.

A lot of the ones in these photos look pretty shiny. Besides a few that inevitably rot, pretty much all the green tomatoes I've ever brought aside to ripen did eventually turn red (or yellow or orange) whether they were shiny or not.

San Marzano paste tomatoes in the kitchen garden on 10-15-09

Last year my tomato plants went into the ground so late that come fall, I had a lot of green tomatoes still out on the vines. Our official frost date is October 15th. On October 17th I picked as many green tomatoes as I could because a heavy frost was predicted for that night.

I used to spend countless autumn hours covering and uncovering my tomato plants with floating row cover (this stuff is great), old bedsheets and blankets, and even poly tarps to protect them from frost and cold weather in order for more tomatoes to ripen on the vine. (Tomato plants, like pepper plants and basil, will die well above freezing.) Then I finally realized something.

San Marzanos harvested on 10-17-09

You know how you're never supposed to store tomatoes in the refrigerator because it messes up their flavor and texture? Well, leaving your tomatoes out in the garden when the temperature is dropping down into the 30s and 40s means you're basically refrigerating them.

So you might as well save yourself some time (and frustration, if you forget to cover your plants and the tomatoes freeze—been there, done that) and let your green tomatoes ripen indoors where it's safe.

You want to store your unripe tomatoes somewhere that's at least 55° F. I've read that they should be kept no higher than 55°, but I don't see why. They don't grow well when it's that cool outside, and they'll simply ripen faster in warmer temperatures.

The temperature in The Shack can fluctuate wildly this time of year, and that's never seemed to bother my ripening green tomatoes either. I leave some on the kitchen counter and stick the rest out of the way in our pantry, which is steaming hot in summer and turns into a handy walk-in refrigerator during the winter. As far as I can tell, they don't need to be in the dark.

I usually just leave my green tomatoes in the big colanders and bowls I use when harvesting, but if you don't regularly pick through them, after a while you may end up with a rotted, mushy mess towards the bottom of the pile.

If you have the space and inclination, you could spread your green tomatoes out on large baking sheets so that they're not touching.

San Marzanos on 11-14-09

Some of your indoor ripened tomatoes may end up looking a little soft and wrinkled, especially if you forget about them like I do. Not to worry.

If your tomatoes don't taste or look good enough to slice up for a salad, all you have to do is roast them—and then try not to eat the entire tray of roasted tomatoes in one sitting.

It's amazing what 30 or 40 minutes at 450° will do to the flavor.

You can use your favorite tomato roasting method, or simply toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar, spread them on a heavy duty rimmed baking sheet (these Chicago Metallic commercial baking sheets are the best; I line mine with sheets of unbleached parchment paper) and roast at 450° for 30 or 40 minutes, or until you like how they look.

More of my 10-17-09 green tomato harvest

So what do you do with your green tomatoes? Ripen them indoors? Fry them up in a cast iron skillet? Turn them into a dessert pie? (I've been meaning to try this.) Feed them to the chickens?

Looking for more about tomatoes? On 8/18/10, I wrote about harvesting my first tomatoes of the year from the garden and why I think every garden should have at leaset one cherry tomato plant in it, and you filled the comments section with tomato growing talk.

In September 2009, I wrote about my favorite varieties of heirloom tomatoes to grow, and a couple dozen of you shared your favorites in the comments section of that post.

In August 2009 (ha - five days later than this year!) my first tomato was ripe, and 42 of you joined in the tomato growing conversation in the comments section of that post. (Your comments are one of the best parts about keeping a garden blog, and I apologize for not being better at replying to them.)

Other tomato growing posts are here:

7/31/06: Growing Arkansas Traveler Tomatoes & How To Save Your Own Tomato Seeds

8/5/06: How to Trim Tomato Plants

8/9/06: Growing Kellogg's Breakfast Tomatoes and a Colors of Summer Salad

9/16/07: Kissing Summer Goodbye with the Easiest Greek Salad Ever

6/2/08: Planting Tomatoes Later is Better than Never (I Think)

9/4/08: How To Freeze Tomatoes the Really Easy Way (and Why I Don't Do Much Canning Anymore) (lots of great comments from other gardeners here)

10/12/08: Growing Tomatoes: How Many Plants Do You Need and What To Do If You End Up with Too Many Tomatoes—Make Easy & Delicious Homemade Tomato Juice! (lots of tomato growing comments here, too)

9/23/09: My Favorite Varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes to Grow (and readers share theirs, too)

And my favorite ways to use fresh tomatoes are here:

Homemade Tomato Vegetable Juice

Arugula or Spinach Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Black Olives, Pecorino Romano, Sliced Chicken Sausage, and Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Quick & Easy and Oh So Refreshing Gazpacho

Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato & Artichoke Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes, and Fresh Basil (I fell in love with this recipe last year, and now I make the pesto with both fresh and sun dried tomatoes)

Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip (and going on factory tours)

Savory Tomato Pesto Pie with a Foolproof Biscuit Crust (one of my most popular recipes)

Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Tomato Pesto Pizza, My Basil Pesto Recipe, & A Simple Tomato Salad

Three No-Cook Summer Recipes: Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw, Easy Vegetarian Tacos, & High Kickin' Tomato Dressing

Cream Cheese & Tomato Sandwiches On Italian Black Olive Cheeks

The Easiest Greek Salad Ever

My Seven Second Tomato Glut Solution

Saving the Harvest with No Sugar Green Tomato Relish

How to Freeze Tomatoes the Really Easy Way

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the frostbitten foodie farm blog where I love October, but this year it feels weird—and not just because we put up hay, which is something we usually do in May, June, and/or July. Snuggling up to the woodstove at night and then throwing open the windows during 80° sunny days is a really odd combination.