Re: [gardeners] tomatine?
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 16:35:55
At 02:24 PM 4/10/98 +0000, you wrote:
>Margaret Lauterbach <gardeners@globalgarden.com> 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
>>
>
>Yeah -- all those black Russian tomatoes are black because the stuff
>that makes them green doesn't go away. In other words, the reason
>they are black is that red + green = black in the world of light.
>Now I don't know if he's talking about the same stuff or if he says
>it's toxic, but at least you, me and Catharine are still alive after
>eating those black tomatoes. I reckon you know that the reason
>"pink" tomatoes are pink is because there's no pigment in the skins.
>I think most yellow tomatoes are yellow in order to warn people that
>the taste, like the color, is washed out.
>
>Liz
>
Whoa up there Liz. You ever eaten Yellow Pear tomatoes? Taste really good
but not high acid. Got a sweet, old time tomato taste, particularly if vine
ripened. Of course they're so small you've got to stand at the plant and
pick them all to get a good mess.
George