A few years ago I found a recipe in the Baker's Seed catalog for Yellow Tomato Jam made with Hartman's Yellow Gooseberries. In true Kim fashion we grew the Gooseberries and then added Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries and Pineapple Tomatillos, excess is best:-) My sister-in-law Joann helped me make the tomato jam. the jam was good but the best find of that summer was the Pineapple Tomatillo.
We have grown them ever since. They are a sugary little pop when you bite into them. Even people who don't like tomatoes like these little tomatillos.
I used to think of a tomatillo as a green, tart tomato used in salsa verde. The green tomatillos definitely are an acquired taste but the pineapple tomatillos are amazing. They are crunchy and sweet. They are the best eaten fresh from the garden. We take them in our lunch as a snack.
Tomatillos are a relative of tomatoes but grow a little differently. The plants are only 2-3' tall and branch like an umbrella. They tomatillos grow in a papery husk. The tomatillos are not harvested until the husk with the tomatillo fall to the ground. The protective little husk keeps the tomatillo for up to 2 weeks on the ground. If you harvest the tomatillos quickly after they fall to the ground they will last the 2 weeks in your house on the counter. You need to peel the husk from the tomatillo before it is eaten.
You might want to place some burlap under the plant to make harvesting easier.
I have baked 'blueberry' muffins with the pineapple tomatillos and made a salsa for fish with them. Just add some fresh lime juice, orange juice and onion. I served this over blackened fish.
The tomatillos are easy to grow and kids like to harvest and eat them. Starter plants are available at our farm this year.
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