Give Fried Green Tomatoes A Balanced Taste With This Secret Ingredient

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A batch of firm green tomatoes can only mean one thing is on the menu: fried green tomatoes. It's not often a tomato is fit for a dip in batter and a bath in hot oil, but the firm-fleshed fruit has enough structure that it can withstand a fair amount of cooking. That being said, fried green tomatoes can come off pretty acidic; they are tomatoes, after all. We consulted content creator Jamie Milne, author of the cookbook "Everything Delish," about the one ingredient she'd use to temper the acidity in green tomatoes.

"A tiny bit of sugar can actually work really well because green tomatoes are naturally quite tart," Milne said. "The sugar balances that acidity and enhances the overall flavor." But it's not necessarily about giving the tomato a sugary coating.

"You can add a small pinch of sugar to the breading mixture, usually about ½ teaspoon per cup of flour or cornmeal mixture, which is enough to balance the acidity without making it sweet," she instructed. This way, you can still use the fried green tomatoes in any manner you see fit, whether it's as an appetizer, a side, or something that's a little more filling.

While a lot of the acidic flavor in a green tomato will naturally tone down while it's cooking, there are a few other things you can do to balance out the flavors. For example, you can serve your tomatoes with a fat-heavy sauce, such as a remoulade, which will compliment the acidic notes of the tomato. If you salt your tomatoes and drain them prior to cooking, you'll notice that some of their juice will be released, which should help firm up their texture and also help mitigate the acidity issue. Don't dump the juice, though. It's actually delicious and can be repurposed for things like vinaigrettes or savory cocktails. This salting method works for both red and green tomatoes.

Coupled with that slight bit of sugar in the coating, you've now got a few ways to make your next  batch of green tomatoes a touch more neutral in case your current recipe is a little too tart. Then you can use them for things like pimento cheese and fried green tomato sandwiches, or BLTs with fried green tomatoes in them. We also think they're pretty stellar as-is, so no need to overthink anything.