Re: [gardeners] tomatine?
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 16:31:52
At 02:59 PM 4/10/98 -0600, you wrote:
>I've talked to Kay about this before, and I'm hoping she'll chime in here.
>A friend told me he had seen discussion of the green on potatoes
>(solanine), in which one of the writers mentioned a toxic substance in
>green tomatoes as well. I just received a copy in the mail, and it's from
>the "solutions" section of Organic Gardening, Nov/Dec., '97 issue. OG
>quotes Dr. Rod Bushway, professor of food science at the U. of Maine, as
>saying "Green tomatoes contain a glycoalkaloid called tomatine, which
>disappears as the tomato ripens." (there is also a recommendation that you
>not trim away the green and eat the rest of the potato, but discard the
>whole thing to be safe.) Any reactions? Margaret
The only green I've seen on a potato is the skin. It was always my
understanding, and I've done it for years, that peeling the tater took the
hazard away. Now ordinarily I don't peel potatoes except when company's
coming, figuring the peel probably has most of the good stuff in it but
green ones I do. Do other parts of the tater get green? As for tomatoes, I
don't want to hear this, I do like my fried green tomatoes and, then, what
about those tomatoes that ripen green?
George, with more questions than answers