Re: [gardeners] tomatine?
drusus@golden.net (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 19:15:07 -0400
At 04:35 PM 10-04-98, George Shirley wrote:
>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
I had heritage yellow pear last summer and thought them a total bore. They
really did have a washed out flavour. Too bad, too, as they were very
prolific.
Lucinda
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