Can you eat green tomatoes? Raw? Cooked? Diced into a salsa? Oh, this question is as old as time. What else would we bicker about at our gardening clubs, if not green tomatoes?
I don’t know if you’ve ever been a part of a social media group for gardening where a thread turns into something you know not to be true, and you tell yourself, “hold back self, don’t be a know-it-all,” but then at some point, you can’t? That was me recently when one of my favorite gardening groups was busily offering away free advice to a person who had a crop of what looked like hard, green tomatoes. Not Green Zebra tomatoes or the types meant to be a shade of green, but clearly very underripe tomatoes. My stomach rumbled to think of it.
“Chop them into salsa!” one person said. “Fry them up!” another remarked. Then I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to play buzzkill of the year with my “you may want to wait until they ripen, really underripe tomatoes can be high in toxins.”
Cue all the other know-it-alls (we seem to attract one another). “Fried Green Tomatoes are popular in the south, why would people make them if they were toxic?” and “I’ve been eating green tomatoes all my life and I’m still alive!” got shot right back at me. Rather than give into internet squabbles, I decided to move on and let them enjoy their digestive issues in peace. But let’s talk about the first two reactions which I do think need clarification:
- Chefs don’t use wildly underripe tomatoes to make fried green tomatoes, because underripe tomatoes taste terrible. They used tomatoes that are beginning to turn yellow/red which have lower levels of solanine and taste much better.
- It’s correct that you probably won’t die from eating underripe green tomatoes, but who is to say a child or pet wouldn’t? Maybe the green tomatoes you eat aren’t all that underripe? If they were, you’d probably know. If you need to spice and pickle the tomatoes to make them taste good, then they’re not ripe enough—solanine makes them taste bitter and horrible. That should be the big red flag.
I’m of course not here to tell you what to do with your green tomatoes, but there are so many ways to ripen green tomatoes, why settle for the bitter murder tomatoes?
Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!
The facts: Green tomatoes contain the poisonous alkaloid solanine – but what does that mean?
All nightshades, like tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers contain solanine. You probably already know not to eat green potatoes because of this alkaloid, but most seem to avoid the subject when it comes to tomatoes.
Solanine is one of the ways nightshades protect themselves and attempt to keep from being eaten. As tomatoes grow from green to red, the levels of solanine reduce almost completely.
There are two major toxic alkaloids in tomatoes, solanine, and tomatine. Solanine (the most potent toxin) is in the fruit, while tomatine (less potent) is in the leaves and stems.
The good news is that even if you eat a hard-as-a-rock green tomato, you’ll probably survive. You may not even get a bellyache—but you might. The thing about toxins is that they accumulate in your body and take time to flush out. So if you were busy having fried green tomato parties every afternoon for lunch you might notice symptoms but it would still matter just how unripe the tomatoes are. Or if you already have arthritis or another type of inflammation, you may also notice it more than, say, a spry teenager.
A few other fun facts:
1. Effects of cooking on solanine: The main question I see is, “can you eat green tomatoes raw? Or can I cook them?” Solanine is heat-resistant, but not entirely. You can’t boil solanine out of green tomatoes (or potatoes for that matter), though it does reduce levels some, which means pickling isn’t a substantial means of reducing solanine. Frying does seem to lessen the amount of solanine in green tomatoes more than boiling. – Encyclopedia of Food Safety (2014).
2. Toxicity of green tomatoes: “Only the green parts of tomato plants contain alkaloid, the risk of poisoning only comes from consuming these parts. The first signs of serious poisoning such as dizziness, difficulty breathing, stomach pains or diarrhea occur in adults if they consume around 0.0071 ounces of solanine. If a larger amount is consumed, the central nervous system will also be damaged, leading to cramps and signs of paralysis. A dose of around 0.014 ounces is considered lethal. Green tomatoes contain around 0.00032 to 0.0011 ounces of solanine per 3.53 ounces of tomato. So in the case of the highest concentration of the alkaloid, you would have to ingest 22.05 ounces of unripe tomatoes raw in order to cause the first signs of serious poisoning. However, as solanine has a very bitter taste, it is highly unlikely that you could ingest such an amount unintentionally. Semi-ripe tomatoes, that is tomatoes that are very nearly ripe, only contain 0.0007 ounces of solanine per 3.53 ounces of tomato. So you would need to eat 220.46 pounds of tomatoes for it to be dangerous. When tomatoes are fully ripe they only contain up to 0.000025 ounces per 3.53 ounces, which would mean that you would need to ingest around 63.93 pounds of raw tomatoes to be in danger of perceptible poisoning.”
3. Symptoms of solanine poisoning: “Clinical manifestations of solanine and chaconine poisoning intoxication occur within 7-19 hr after ingestion. The most common symptoms are vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea; in more severe instances of poisoning, neurologic symptoms, including drowsiness, apathy, confusion, weakness, and vision disturbances, are rarely followed by coma or death. Treatment of solanine poisoning is largely supportive. In the most severe cases, symptoms resolve within 1-2 wk.” – Robert M. Kliegman MD, in Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 2020
How to tell if a green tomato is OK to eat
Is it hard? Is it bitter? It’s probably high in the poisonous alkaloid solanine. Is it turning yellow or red? It will have a considerably lower concentration.
You might also wonder when you can eat green varieties like Green Zebra (my favorite) or Limetto? The good news is that just like red tomatoes, they’ll be tender to the touch when they’re ready.
Well, there you have it. I’ve laid out what I can, as an avid gardener and science-lover but non-scientist, about things as complicated as solanine. You can let your green tomatoes ripen a bit before eating them, or not. Amongst all this information, you also have some guy on the New York Times saying you can eat tomato leaves too and drink tea despite kids dying from it.
So.. .you do you…just maybe don’t feed them to your children or small animals. Leave a comment below and let me know how wrong I am about green tomatoes. Can you eat green tomatoes, or nah?
Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!
Seeing as I’m in the hospital after eating raw green tomatoes on avocado toast I say there is a serious side effect for those of us with compromised immune systems. It’s been a nightmare
I think your maths are off in fun fact #2. You say green tomatoes have between .00032 and .0011 per 3.5 oz of tomato but semi-ripe, which contains less has .0007. This number is midrange between the green numbers, which is not really less. Also you say it’s safe to eat about 220 lbs of semi-ripe tomatoes but only about 64 lbs of fully ripe tomatoes. Maybe the numbers were swapped or a decimal point misplaced? Maybe none of the numbers can be trusted?
I rarely eat red tomatoes; instead, I consume pounds of green tomatoes per week. Never had a bad reaction. Unripe tomatoes are “meaty” throughout. Sliced red tomatoes are like “wagon wheels” with skinny spokes and lots of watery filling.
Never ate one raw. Usually batter them with flour/chicken breader/and medium hot breader. Helps to dip them in an egg wash with milk/beer/or water (depending on desired crispiness.)
Often, I’ll simply sauté green naked tomato slices in a splash of oil and a dab of butter. Makes an amazing topping for a mound of angel hair spaghetti smothered with Four Cheese pasta sauce.
Green tomatoes offer an “adult” taste experience.
Ripe red tomatoes vs green tomatoes = Sangria wine vs Single malt scotch.
Interesting conversations. My mother was a southern gal. She looked forward to a batch of fried green tomatoes. I don’t remember her frying more than one batch a year. Given that, I’m aware that people with arthritis are encouraged to reduce their consumption of tomatoes. It gets frustrating. Tomatoes are supposed to be good for heart health and then Dr. Gundry discourages you eating them. He recommends removing the skin and seeds. I suspect that this discussion will continue for a long time. As regards our indigenous relatives, I wonder if the tomatoes were different from what we eat? Then there are other vegetables that raw are poisonous and our ancestors figured out a way to treat them so that they are edible.
Yes, you’re right! I am a CA transplant to the south so I was so excited to fry up my first batch of green tomatoes last night. I picked some nice green firm ones and fried them up. Dipping them in Ranch dressing, I hardly noticed how sour they were! I ended up with a stomach ache and yes, diarrhea! ???? This morning I thought, “I’ll go to Google to ask for advice” and that is how I found the confirmation in your article, thank you. Next time I will wait for them to get softer!
Love fried green tomatoes been eating for years .
If green tomatoes were seriously toxic in the quantities likely to be eaten, Central America would be very thinly populated. They are the base material for almost every form of “salsa verde” cooked and uncooked. This is a routine part of the diet of adults and children.
I don’t doubt the theoretical possibility of poisoning, but it seems extraordinarily unlikely at any practical level of consumption.
Salsa Verde is made with tomatillos, not underripe (green) tomatoes. They are a different fruit all together.
Actually, it depends on the brand. Muir Glen has Fire Roasted Green Tomatoes, which are not tomatillos.
Dr. Steven Gundry recommends not eating Deadly Nightshade relatives. He recommends, if I am correct, that you remove the skin and seeds from tomatoes before eating. Yes, my mother always had at least one batch of fried Green Tomatoes at the beginning of the season. It is not solanine but lectins, that Gundry is concerned about. I wonder how my Native American relatives survived eating them along with corn and potatoes. Perhaps, they were different varieties from what we are eating. No GMOs, etc.
So, those who commented that they eat green tomatoes and have not died, should consider that toxicity can build up in your system and can make you vulnerable to other diseases. For instance; I have purslane that grows all around my house and I add it to almost every salad or stir-fry I make. I won’t ever pick the ones that grow in the shade – oxalic acid damages your kidneys. I won’t die from eating a handful, but why would I take the chance.
Very informative article above! I will definitely share it!! Thank you!!
I just pickled twelve jars with onion, dill, and garlic in a brine and processed for ten minutes. Also have been eating fried green for YEARS with no ill effects. And last but not least JUST had a toasted green tomato sandwich. With a raw tomato. I love them
I grew up in Northern Minnesota eating fried green tomatoes out of our garden. I prefer them to be a bit biting or sour.
Very informative! Thank you so much!
Love Green fried tomatoes using cornmeal prefer yellow and fresh canola oil salt and pepper, I’m over 70 years young have been eating them for most of my life love love love????