selecting tomatillos

[phoebe]

How do you select tomatillos in a market? I just made a tomatillo and spinach green sauce (for enchiladas) and it's a little tangier (tangy-er?) than I would like which I assume indicates some less than idealy ripened tomatillos. Should I add a little sugar?
Also, I am growing my own (they're barely an inch tall right now), but I have no idea how you tell when a tomatillo on the vine is ripe enough. Help?

[kthull]

I'm no tomatillo expert, but when the tomatillo is hard and the papery skin is tightly attached, I stay away. I go for a slight give when I squeeze and a skin that is nice and dried and already peeling away.

Darn things make a wonderful salsa!

[mudbug]

Tomatillos should be firm when you select them in the market.

If the husk is pulled away from the skin, or they are wrinkled or soft, they are not fresh.

Tomatillos are supposed to be sour/tangy. Did you follow a recipe?

They are typically simmered in boiling water for 10 minutes before use in salsas, dips, etc.

When the husks start dry out, your tomatillos are ready to picked. They naturally fall to the ground when ripe.

They'll last for weeks if stored in a cool, dry place.

Click here for more on tomatillos.

For information on growing tomatillos in your area, contact your county extension office, the information is usally free and they should have a free hotline in case you have any more questions on growing and harvesting vegetables.

L. A. County U.C. Cooperative Extension office can be accessed at http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu

Here is a pdf provided by your extension office specifically on Tomatillo Production in California. You'll need to download the Acrobat PDF reader (free) if you do not already have it.

[phoebe]

Thank you both for the responses. And the links are very helpful.
I know they're supposed to be sour/tangy, but this was a little more than usual (though the end product came out fine). I think the few tomatillos that did have the paper too firmly attached were the culprits. My farmers' market didn't have any, so I had to go with the few my supermarket had on hand, and they were a mix of loose and tight papers. I'll be curious to see how growing my own affects the taste.

[mudbug]

You can't really beat the freshness of any vegetable when you pick it off the plant and walk a few feet to your kitchen.

You may also be interested in growing the purple tomatillo as well....

[phoebe]

Those are gorgeous!
Did you grow them? All I can say is wow! How would you describe the difference in taste?

[kthull]

Just imagine: a nice roasted salsa violeta!

[davidscooking]

Here's a link that you may find useful.

http://www.davidscooking.com/ingredi...omatillos.html

[Mezzaluna]

David, I very much enjoyed browsing your site. And thank you for the link to Chef Talk, too.

I invite you to head to the Welcome Forum to introduce yourself. Please make yourself at home!

Mezzaluna

[davidscooking]

Thanks Mezzaluna, I've done just that. My links page is a work in progress--I need to get on the, lol.

[Suzanne]

Back to tomatillos: I'm all the way on the other side of the country from Phoebe, and also found that tomatilloes I bought a few weeks ago were tarter than usual. My big batch of salsa verde is Mexican Hot-and-Sour Sauce.

[phoebe]

Since it's still pretty early for really good-tasting tomatoes, maybe we both got the early version of tomatillos.

[mudbug]

It'd be interesting if you guys could find out where they were grown... then you could compare notes...