You might have seen tomatillos before, or you have a tree in your backyard and don’t know when it is ready to pick and to enjoy.
Many people don’t have all the information about tomatillos, especially when they are edible. If they aren’t ripe, they really don’t taste great, and this can prevent you from ever eating and enjoying this fruit again.
With this guide, you will get to know when a tomatillo is ready to be picked, and when it is ripe enough for eating.
What are tomatillos?
Firstly, what are tomatillos?
Many people confuse them for tomatoes that are just smaller than real tomatoes. However, this isn’t the case. Just because the name sounds like tomatoes, it doesn’t mean that it is the same thing.
The tomatillos are growing in a small shell that is protecting the fruit. When the fruit is ripe the shell will burst open and you will be able to enjoy the fruit.
Some people are enjoying the sour fruit a lot, while others don’t like the taste of the fruit. There are also a variety of different types of tomatillos, tasting differently.
When do you know they are ready to be picked?
It isn’t actually hard to know when the tomatillo fruit is ready to be picked. You just need to look at the shell or husks of the fruit, while it is still on the tree. When the husks are any other color but a dryish color, then it isn’t ripe.
A tomatillo that is ready to be picked has a husk that is brownish and has split open. You can actually see the fruit inside. It doesn’t matter what the color of the fruit itself is. Some are green when ripe, while others are orange.
Things to look for in a ripe tomatillo
Many people are making the mistake to think that the fruit itself needs to change color. And, that they can open the husk to see the color of the fruit. What they don’t know is that by forcing the husks open, you are preventing the tomatillo to ripen correctly.
You should not touch the tomatillo until the husks of the fruit are brownish in color and thin, almost paper-like. And, if you are still unsure, you should wait until the husks burst open by itself.
Then, you will know for sure that your tomatillos are ready to be harvested. The color of the fruit will depend on the type of tomatillo that you have.
What can you do with tomatillos after you harvested it?
People that never have eaten or used tomatillos before, don’t know what you can do with it.
Some people enjoy tomatillos so much that they are eating it, the moment that they pick it from the tree. You can make jam from it, use the tomatillos in salads and salsas. You can even use it in soups.
One thing that you need to remember is that it tastes nothing like a tomato. So you should not use the tomatillos instead of a tomato. You can use the tomatillos as added flavor, but not as a substitute for tomatoes.
You need to store the ripe tomatillos correctly if you want to ensure that it doesn’t rot easily. To keep it cool is the best thing that you can do. But, it should be used fast, before it losses its flavor.
Taking care of your tomatillos correctly
Some tomatillo tree owners don’t get their tree to bear fruit. This is because they don’t take care of their trees correctly. They need to have sunlight and enough water. The normal fruit time is until the first frost. Then, you will not get any tomatillo fruit anymore until next summer.
The soil needs to be healthy and you need to add the right fertilizer regularly to ensure that the tomatillos grow successfully.
You can ask a professional what fertilizer is the best to use on your tomatillo tree. The good news is that tomatillos are easy to grow, and there aren’t any fancy things that you need to do in order for you to have a healthy tree.
Anyone can be successful with a tomatillo.
Conclusion
Tomatillos are nothing like a tomato, but the name indicates that it is a tomato. A unique fruit that is protected inside a shell or a husk.
When the husk burst open and expose the fruit, you will know that your tomatillo is ready to be picked. You should look daily for ripe tomatillos that have burst open, otherwise, the birds will enjoy them.
This is a great fruit that you can use in many different ways, even if many people don’t like the taste of them.
Now, you will never wonder when your tomatillos are ripe and ready to be picked again.
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