Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are made from unripe tomatoes, which are tart and firm, coated in flour or cornmeal and fried until crisp and golden [1]. Though strongly associated with the American South, the dish is not considered a southern invention: the earliest known recipe appeared in a Chicago newspaper in 1877 [1]. Its southern image owes much to Alabama author Fannie Flagg’s 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and the 1991 film, which drew on the Irondale Cafe near Birmingham [1][2].

Origins

The dish became popular first in colder regions such as the Midwest and Northeast, where farmers harvested unripe crops before frost, and many believe it arose to avoid waste [1]. Recipes appeared in The Inter Ocean, a Chicago newspaper, in 1899, in The International Jewish Cookbook in 1919, and in The Mississippi Cook Book by Mary Elizabeth Warren in 1922 [1]. Matzo meal can replace flour or cornmeal for kosher preparation [1]. Southerners did eat the dish, but its strong regional association grew largely from the 1991 film [1].

The novel and the film

Fannie Flagg’s novel was published by Random House on August 12, 1987, in a 403-page first edition, and spent 36 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list [2]. A 1986 frame story follows Evelyn Couch, who befriends nursing-home resident Ninny Threadgoode, who tells of the Whistle Stop Cafe run in the 1920s and 1930s by Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison in a fictional Alabama town; the book closes with the cafe’s recipes, including fried green tomatoes [2]. Harper Lee praised the novel, calling Idgie “a true original” [2]. The 1991 film, written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski and directed by Jon Avnet, starred Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker and Cicely Tyson and earned two Academy Award nominations [2]. It had an $11 million budget and grossed $119.4 million [1]. See Fannie Flagg.

The Irondale Cafe

The cafe is loosely based on the Irondale Cafe in Irondale, Alabama, east of Birmingham, which Flagg’s aunt, Bess Fortenberry, bought in 1932 [2]. The Irondale Cafe has served fried green tomatoes for more than 90 years [1]. Its own page describes a down-home tradition that began at a whistle stop beside the tracks [3]. The film was shot in Juliette, Georgia, where the owner of a 1927 building later opened a real Whistle Stop Cafe [1].

Serving today

Remoulade is the typical accompaniment, and variations include Eggs Benedict, goat cheese and bacon jam appetizers, BLTs and sides with crab cakes [1]. See Alabama Cuisine.

FAQs

Where is the Irondale Cafe? At 1906 1st Ave N in Irondale, Alabama, near Birmingham [3].

When was the novel published? August 12, 1987 [2].

Sources

1. Museum of the New South: Fried Green Tomatoes
2. Wikipedia: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
3. In Birmingham: Irondale Cafe

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 10, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue