I can’t say that Fried Green Tomatoes is one of my favorite dishes because then it would sound like I only have a few favorite dishes. So, I will simply say, I love fried green tomatoes. I mean they are fried, so that’s a good indication I’ll like it, and also it is a tomato, so I can argue subconsciously that it’s a healthy snack.
This brings me to a second thought. Why is it that southern cuisine makes a mockery out of healthy eating? We take healthy (although slimy) okra and deep fried it, we take low-calorie onions and fry them, “healthyish” corn and, you guessed it, fry it! Because of our notorious habits of frying some of the healthiest options on the food pyramid, I assumed we did the same to green tomatoes. I just found out, however, we aren’t to blame!
That’s right, fried green tomatoes did not originate in the South. Apparently, the earliest it can be found is in a northern cookbook, from a Presbyterian Church in Ohio! Now, what I found really weird in my research of the addicting snack is that the Northern folks serve theirs with powdered sugar? Apparently. Check out this recipe from a 1902 cookbook, “365 Luncheon Dishes” It’s recipe number 15, a little down from sardine sandwiches (puke).
At South Kitchen and Bar, they don’t serve them with powdered sugar, but they serve them just the way I like ‘em. Hot, firm, slightly salty and fresh.
If you haven’t tried a hot, crispy, fried green tomato, what are you waiting on? Come on our Southern Food Tour in downtown Athens. It may just be your new “guiltyish” pleasure!
