Green tomatoes

Green tomatoes in Davao

March 1, 2014

When you walk in the mall, you can always get away from the Grocerie the ground floor. And usually it draws us into the fruit and vegetables department. Sure, the prices here are slightly higher than in Digos, Calinan, Aracan, 40 km away, or further in the direction of Mt Apo - where the things usually come.

Besides  herbs, such as basil, tarragon, mint,  and dill above all - that has really surprised me to find it here - you get to buy great deals such as potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and tomatoes. The gardener heart of every foreigner will beat ten  times higher. The offer of this vegetable varieties is smaller because it is more expensive than the local vegetables and is usually only bought by foreigners and western-oriented Filipinos.

But one thing was very amazed: The Filipinos like to buy the tomatoes, especially if they're still green. 

Sometimes I would be more then happy to respond if someone searches for the small green tomatoes instead of juicy red right next to it ... Oh, would someone only know that green tomatoes have in a little poison (= solanine) inside that can cause also headache and stomachache ? Only when the tomatoes are red, then they are easy to eat.

The solution to this problem was real Filipino style: The Filipinos like to eat the still green tomatoes together with Ginamos and  think it okay. The main reason is that they think that red tomatoes are already over ripe and spoiled. Greene tomatoes, however, would be fresh and healthy. That’s it.

Best regards,

Ludwig from Davao