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From pickles to onions and potatoes, many vegetables benefit from the ole battered and deep-fried treatment. However, one of the most underrated yet delicious fried vegetables comes in the form of the eccentric green tomato. Between their acidic, tart flavor and the seasoned crunch of the deep-fried crust, staple for good reason.

But if you're making them from scratch, you'll need to avoid one common mistake to preserve their integrity: slicing them too thinly. Although they're not as juicy as other cultivars, thanks to their unripened state, thinly sliced fried green tomatoes can turn into a mushy, shapeless mess. The appeal of frying green tomatoes over other varietals is that they are firm enough to maintain their shape.



However, delicate, ultra-thin slices have less density and lack the structural integrity to hold together during frying. To ensure your fried green tomatoes come out perfectly crispy and intact, cut them into slices between 1⁄3 and 1⁄2 inch thick and coat them thoroughly before dunking them in the deep fryer. The solidity of the tomatoes and the sturdy batter provide a barrier against the piping hot oil that prevents them from taking on a soggy texture and disintegrating.

Tips for perfectly slicing green tomatoes It doesn't take an expert to cut green tomatoes into thick slices, but even simple kitchen tasks come with guidelines. Keeping a few tips in mind while slicing your tomatoes guarantees a high-quality batch of this deep-fried, crowd-pleasing ap.

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