green tomatoe safety

Asked October 4, 2017, 4:39 PM EDT

I have 20lbs of green tomatoes. half are cherry and the other half is better boys. I want to know if they will process well together and how long will the tomato pulp last uncanned

Crook County Oregon food safety home food preservation

1 Response

Green tomatoes can be preserved using the same methods as ripe tomatoes, but they are harder to peel. All of our canning instructions are based on peeled tomatoes. You can safely mix and match ripe, semi-ripe and green tomatoes and different types of tomatoes together.

You might cook a batch of green tomatoes and test them to be sure you like the outcome before canning too many. They don’t have the flavor or consistency of ripe tomatoes, so they may be best when used in a product with other ingredients (like a salsa).

If you refrigerate the raw pulp, I would limit it to 5-7 days. The enzymes in the flesh will continue to break down the cellular structure and give the product a slimy texture. If it is cooked, it should last a few days longer than that without becoming poor consistency or potentially unsafe if there has been some sort of contamination. You could freeze the tomatoes without any pretreatment (such as blanching) and then cook and process them when you have more time.

Here is a publication with complete tomato preservation instructions.

This publication has a good recipe for green salsa that can use either tomatillos or green tomatoes starting on page 6.

Remember our toll-free, food preservation hotline is open Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4 pm until October 13. 1-800-354-7319 if you would like more information.