Fried Green Tomatoes are far from a Maryland-specific food but they fit nicely among Maryland fare for a few reasons. The Southern-ness of Fried Green Tomatoes, mistakenly taken for granted since the 1992 film, is now being exposed as questionable. Maryland, though perhaps not Marylanders, can relate to this questioned Southern identity.
Recipes for fried green (and red) tomatoes, often served with cream gravy, appear throughout my Maryland cookbooks and newspapers from the 20th century onward.
Frying green tomatoes makes a lot of sense in Maryland, where we have a slightly shorter growing season than locations farther south. It is a handy technique come October, when the last of the crops refuse to ripen in time and you want to savor that final vestige of summer.
In this case I went the opposite route, using some of the beautiful early tomatoes that show up at the Waverly Farmers Market.
The simple recipe I used came from a community cookbook, “The Country School Cookbook II” printed in 1980. Although I cannot determine much about Amy Horne, the recipe’s contributor, this elementary school was founded in Easton in 1934 and is still operating today.
Country School founder Dorothy Starrt and original location from the Country School website.
The cookbook is most notable to me for its exceptional illustrations. They reflect the bounty of the Eastern Shore, of which this author considers the tomato to be the crown jewel.
Recipe:
- 2 Green tomatoes
- 1 egg
- 1tb water
- salt & pepper or seasoned salt
- oil or bacon grease (or both)
- breadcrumbs (smaller than the ones I made! smash them small!)
Slice green tomatoes very thin (they are best when slightly tinged with pink). Dip in egg, which has been slightly beaten with seasonings, thinned with a little water. Fry in a thin amount of oil or bacon fat until brown and crisp, just under 2 minutes each side.
Recipe adapted from “The Country School Cookbook II”, 1980
