Where did fried green tomatoes originate?

Question

I actually enjoy making them. It's a way to use the last green tomatoes in my garden. I actually got the idea from the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes."

Answer 1

The articles which provided reference to documentation, suggests:



"Fried green tomatoes are by no means a Southern dish at all. By all accounts, they entered the American culinary scene in the Northeast and Midwest, perhaps with a link to Jewish immigrants, and from there moved onto the menu of the home-economics school of cooking teachers who flourished in the United States in the early-to-mid 20th century." -- excerpt from http://alforno.blogspot.com/2007/08/fried-green-tomato-swindle.html



~~~~~



I've provided several links to these researched write-ups, as follows:



~~~~~



The following write-up is from this link: http://blog.armadillopepper.com/







As I was writing this post, I thought it would be nice to include a little history about "Southern Fried Green Tomatoes". What I learned is that Fried Green Tomatoes many not be very Southern.



Using your favorite search engine you quickly find references to recipes for Fried Green Tomatoes in newspapers dating back to the late 1800's and early 1900's. Interestingly, many of these references are in publications that are not Southern.



In Al Forno's "Fried Green Tomato Swindle" he notes a "recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes appears in the International Jewish Cookbook (1919), recommended as "an excellent breakfast dish," and in Aunt Babette's Cookbook (1889), another kosher Jewish recipe book". He further notes that as part of his research into the history and origin of fried green tomatoes he "found eleven recipes for fried green tomatoes published in newspapers between 1900 and 1919", but interestingly all eleven were in Northern or Midwestern cities"







~~~~~



The following link takes you to a write-up about Al Forno's "Fried Green Tomato Swindle", as referenced above.

http://alforno.blogspot.com/2007/08/fried-green-tomato-swindle.html



Here's an excerpt from the write-up:







Based upon my research to date, here's my best inferences on the true history:



Fried green tomatoes are by no means a Southern dish at all. By all accounts, they entered the American culinary scene in the Northeast and Midwest, perhaps with a link to Jewish immigrants, and from there moved onto the menu of the home-economics school of cooking teachers who flourished in the United States in the early-to-mid 20th century.



A recipe for "Fried Green Tomatoes" appears in the International Jewish Cookbook (1919), recommended as "an excellent breakfast dish," and in Aunt Babette's Cookbook (1889), another kosher Jewish recipe book. Recipes for "fried tomatoes" (though not necessarily green ones) appear in several Midwestern cookbooks from the late 19th Century, including the Buckeye Cookbook (1877) and The Presbyterian Cookbook (1873) from the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, OH. By the early part of the 20th Century, recipes for fried green tomatoes were appearing regularly in newspapers throughout the northeast and midwest, usually in cooking columns that were widely syndicated and often as part of canned pieces that offered to layout for a homemaker a complete week's menu (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).



I am not going to question Fannie Flagg's memory and suggest that the Irondale Cafe wasn't serving fried green tomatoes as far back as the 1930s. But, if it was, it seems they were serving up not a common Southern favorite but something the cook may have found in a syndicated newspaper column or a general-interest, national cookbook.



In fact, if you look a little closer at the lone fried green tomato recipe I could find in a Southern newspaper between 1930 and 1960, you'll notice something interesting. It's an article on the front page of the September 28, 1944 issue of the Dothan (Alabama) Eagle. The text mocks a leaflet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that advocates all Americans start the day with a sound, nutritious breakfast, and recommends items such as shortcake, baked beans, and fried green tomatoes. The title makes the Alabama editor's opinion clear: "No, Thank You, Suh! Our Culinary Tastes Won't Permit It, Suh!" The implication is that, as of the 1940s at least, no self-respecting Southerner would dream of eating a fried green tomato.







~~~~~



At the same link, for Al Forno's "Fried Green Tomato Swindle", as referenced above, another individual, whose parents owned and operated the cafe, about the fried green tomatoes, responds with:



http://alforno.blogspot.com/2007/08/fried-green-tomato-swindle.html







Well I'll be...

It's amazing what you find when you google!

I will have to ask Mom and Dad, who owned and ran the cafe, about the fried green tomatoes. I do know that they were serving bushel baskets full of tomatoes before the movie ever came out. The batter mix you mentioned was developed so that people could make their own at home.



As far as the origin of the fried green tomato... I think you may be on to something

Answer 2

A lot of "southern" dishes were created by slaves who didn't get the credit.

Answer 3

Where Did Tomatoes Originate

Answer 4

being from central Mississippi we grew up with fried green tomatoes. I have since found that topping them with a cream cheese, buttery sauce, and spices with crawfish or shrimp is a slap yo mama dish. definitely a favorite at our home

Answer 5

The scene your talking about shows the town modern day (at the time) run down and dilapidated. Then the movie goes back to the 20's to tell the story, when the town was booming. I am from Juliette GA where the movie was filmed. In high school we used to party there because the town was run down. All of my friends used to listen to the Grateful Dead. I am the one who spray painted Grateful Dead on the side of the building.

Answer 6

In the south

Answer 7

They originated in the South.



I can never get the batter right, it falls off and I don't know it you should take the seeds out, so I just dust with flour.

Answer 8

I grew up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and my Mother had grown up there too. So I assume somewhere in her family someone tried it and liked them. By the way, that movie was one of the best ever.

Answer 9

I believe, in the South...I make mine with egg, flour/cornmeal, and various seasonings. I love that movie too!! Happy Cooking, and Eating:)