What Are Fried Green Tomatoes And What Makes Them So Delicious?

Fried green tomatoes have become a staple at Southern restaurants around the country. People who love them really love them and some restaurants have staked their entire reputation on their recipe for the delicious dish. If you've never had them, though, you may not understand the fuss or even what they are. To bring you all the answers to your burning questions, we spoke with Eric Gabrynowicz, executive chef and VP of culinary at Tupelo Honey. 

One of the restaurant's specialties is its version of fried green tomatoes, which Yelp reviewers for the Asheville, North Carolina, location call "a super yummy upscale version of a classic" and "the best I've ever had." To put it mildly, the folks at Tupelo Honey know fried green tomatoes, so we asked all the important questions — from the best type of tomato to tips on frying them — to give you the full scoop on this classic side.

If your first thought when we say fried green tomatoes is the 1991 movie of the same name with Kathy Bates, Cicely Tyson, and Mary-Louise Parker among its star-studded cast, you've probably never eaten the iconic food. To put it simply, fried green tomatoes are made by seasoning and battering green tomatoes (often in the form of thick slices) and then frying them. It sounds simple, and it mostly is, but the green of the tomatoes isn't just about giving the dish a unique color; green tomatoes also lend a specific flavor to the dish. 

Eric Gabrynowicz explains that the acidity level of the tomatoes is part of what makes fried green tomatoes special and that acidity comes from using unripe tomatoes. According to Gabrynowicz, "Any level of 'unripeness' is good," though he adds, "The more firm, the better." That's because, while all tomatoes are somewhat acidic, they are most acidic when they are at their most firm (and least ripe). 

There's no denying that fried green tomatoes have become a Southern staple, but that may be largely thanks to the aforementioned early '90s movie and the 1987 book it was based on, "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg. Set in Alabama, the book and movie firmly planted fried green tomatoes in the South, but according to historian and food writer Robert F. Moss, they likely came to the U.S. by way of Northeast and Midwest immigrants, specifically Jewish immigrants. In fact, way more foods are Jewish in origin than you probably realize.

Moss found that while Jewish and Midwestern cookbooks from the late 1800s and early 1900s contained recipes for fried green tomatoes, they were notably absent from Southern cookbooks. While the author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" hails from Alabama and likely based the book on some of her own experiences (including eating the dish), it's possible she overestimated the popularity of fried green tomatoes in the South. According to Moss, they didn't become common there until after the book and movie were released. The real Whistle Stop Cafe where the movie was filmed, located in Juliette, Georgia, took the movie's popularity and ran with it. Fried green tomatoes are still the very first item on the menu.

According to Eric Gabrynowicz, you could use any underripe tomato to make fried green tomatoes, even Roma tomatoes or end-of-season green cherry tomatoes, but that doesn't mean you should. "We have found beefsteaks to be the best, most flavorful, and durable," he said. 

If you do choose to use something other than beefsteak tomatoes when making the dish, be sure you know how your chosen tomato looks when ripe and unripe. Gabrynowicz advises, "I try to stay away from any variety that is green when fully ripe (German Green, Green Zebra) as it's not easy to pinpoint when their ripeness is changing." 

While you could, in theory, use these green-when-ripe tomatoes, you'll have to rely more on other ways to tell if the summer staple is ripe, like its firmness. It's much easier to use red varieties or even yellow or purple types so that the color is an easy indicator of ripeness.

In addition to the acidity of the tomatoes, another component that makes fried green tomatoes so delicious is the crispy coating. But look up five different recipes for fried green tomatoes and you're likely to get five different opinions about the proper coating mixture. Is plain cornmeal best or is a cornmeal and flour mixture superior? Perhaps you should forego the cornmeal altogether and go with a simple flour dredge (which is different from breading, by the way). Then there's the option to set up a full breading station, starting with a flour dredge, following it with egg, and finally coating your tomato slice with breadcrumbs. 

The reality is that you can't go wrong with your breading and it can be customized to your liking, just like the seasoning. Some fried green tomatoes don't use breading at all while others, like the breading at Tupelo Honey, add an extra ingredient or two. "We love using a seasoned flour mixture followed by a buttermilk/egg mixture and finished with panko," said Eric Gabrynowicz. "To us, it gives a great unique crunch while maintaining the integrity of the tomato."

Once you have your acidic green tomatoes and your ideal ingredients for a crispy coating, the final ingredient in creating the perfect fried green tomatoes lies in the fry. The fattiness and richness from frying the tomatoes complement the tangy acidity of the tomatoes and help give the coating the best crunch. While Eric Gabrynowicz admits that fried green tomatoes can technically be made in the air fryer, he also notes, "[Given] the choice, I'd favor real frying every time."

If you're not accustomed to deep-frying at home, you may be tempted to fry your green tomatoes in a shallow pan fry. While you'll still be able to achieve that delicious crunch either way, the difference between pan-frying and deep-frying will still impact the results. 

Gabrynowicz notes that at Tupelo Honey they've found that deep-frying makes for a more uniform golden brown over pan-frying. That said, the option you choose may be dictated by which coating you've used. A thinner coating may be more well-suited to pan-frying, which uses less oil that comes only partway up the food, while a thicker coating or batter may be more well-suited to the full submersion (and uniformity) offered by deep-frying.

While fried green tomatoes are delicious on their own thanks to the combination of the firm, acidic tomato, crispy coating, and richness from the oil they were fried in, you'll be hard-pressed to find a fried green tomato appetizer on a menu without an accompanying sauce. The sauce is your opportunity to either pump up certain components of the dish or add a complementary flavor that might otherwise be missing. Fried green tomatoes seasoned with capsaicin-heavy spices (capsaicin is what makes spicy food feel hot) might benefit from a cooling Ranch dressing. Those with a thick, rich coating might be better served by a dipping sauce with another pop of acidity instead.

"In most Southern restaurants you will generally get them dredged in cornmeal and served with a remoulade type of sauce," says Eric Gabrynowicz, but the sauce is another area where Tupelo Honey does things differently. Rather than remoulade, the restaurant serves its fried green tomatoes with a "deeply flavorful red pepper coulis." According to Gabrynowicz, "The coulis is acidic and bright while also thickened with charred bread, which makes a beautiful umami flavor!"

Fried green tomatoes with a complementary dipping sauce are hard to beat, but why not elevate them with another component to make them the main attraction of your meal? Take a page out of Tupelo Honey's book and add another creamy, rich, or tangy component to round out the dish. "We love to look for ways to bring multiple flavors together on the plate and create a fully well-rounded dish rather than an appetizer that you dip in a sauce," says Eric Gabrynowicz. 

Even though fried green tomatoes may not be Southern in origin, there's no denying that the region has become the food's adopted home. So it only makes sense to pair it with another Southern staple: grits. In addition to the roasted red pepper coulis, Tupelo Honey's fried green tomatoes are served with goat cheese grits and a sprinkling of tomato's best friend, sweet and slightly peppery basil. 

Other options for making your fried green tomatoes part of the main course include adding them to a sandwich (we suggest making them the "T" in your favorite BLT recipe) or bringing them to brunch as a layer in a Southern eggs Benedict. Much like the options for how to make your fried green tomatoes in the first place, the options for how to use them are nearly endless.