But when they realized they had a surplus of the firm green fruit, the Cochran women decided: Why not fry 'em?

"Once we got into it, it went on for hours," says Carrie.

RECIPES

• Fry, broil and bake to use up tomatoes

They started slicing tomatoes and mixing batter. The Cochrans tried the traditional dip-and-dredge method, but decided they preferred a simple thin batter - made with equal parts flour and white cornmeal, eggs and milk - better. This batter seemed to stick to the tomatoes during frying, and didn't leave clumps that burned in the hot oil.

Next, they experimented with seasonings. Kellie and her mother love spicy food - but Carrie doesn't - so they settled on a blend of garlic and onion powder and a heavy dash of Emeril's Essence seasoning.

By the time the Cochrans finished frying last year, they were out of vegetable oil and handing out fried tomatoes to neighbors.

Watching the Cochrans fry tomatoes last week, it appears they have perfected the process: Linda cuts the tomatoes evenly and thinly using a hand-slicer. Carrie dips them into the batter and slips the tomatoes into a wide saute pan holding a shallow layer of hot oil. After a few minutes of sizzling, Carrie turns the tomatoes over until they turn pancake brown. Then she shovels them onto a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, where her sister adds a judicious sprinkle of salt.

"They taste best when they're salted right out of the pan," Linda says.

Gene, the husband and father of the family, is in charge of the final and most important step in the process - tasting. He grew up in London, Ky., and was reared on his mother's fried green tomatoes.

"You talked me into it," he says, reaching for a dark brown tomato slice.

Just out of the pan, the Cochrans' tomatoes are delicately crispy with a bit of crunchy cornmeal texture, the rich fried batter foiled by the tang of green tomato.

Gene, the green tomato connoisseur, nods in approval.

"I think you have room for another one in the pan," he tells Carrie.

E-mail cmartin@enquirer.com