Information and discussion about canning and dehydrating tomatoes and other garden vegetables and fruits. DISCLAIMER: SOME RECIPES MAY NOT COMPLY WITH CURRENT FOOD SAFETY GUIDELINES - FOLLOW AT YOUR OWN RISK
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#16 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,919
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Thank you! I knew it was somewhere deep in a thread, but couldn't find it by searching. I see you say you only cook your pulp down for half an hour. How long do you allow it to sit and separate? I would have liked to leave it a bit longer than over night, but I only had a small window of time to get it cooked and canned. I'm going to try to let the next batch sit a bit longer to see if I can cut the cooking time down even more. I also see now from that thread that some just keep the tomato water fresh/uncooked and use it as a juice. I confess to not having tasted it before cooking it down, but I will sample it with the next batch. |
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#17 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: France
Posts: 554
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Father's Daughter wrote :
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What is left goes to the compost heap. I really don't understand why some people boil the juice trying to concentrate it, I'm speaking of the juice, not the pulp! How long do I wait till it separates ? If I could store 2 gallons in my fridge I would wait 24 hours but I can't. So I keep the mix a whole night in the coolest place in the house, then outside if nights are cooler. I wish I could wait a bit more but I'm afraid it might start fermenting. I'm sure you'll find your personal technique and enjoy the work. |
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#18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: holly michigan
Posts: 380
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This will be my first year making and canning juice. I always have cooked down and canned as a puree, though never tried thinning with water to make it back into juice, wonder how that would taste? I normally stage tomatoes on a large rack of shelves in the kitchen, and as they attain perfect ripeness, cut and strip most seeds and gel (except those varieties with a sweet gel) and add to a 1 gallon ziplock in the freezer. When I get 5-6 gallon bags frozen I make a large batch of sauce/puree, re-freeze in plastic jars or can. One time I ladled water off the tops of kettles to reduce cooking time, and boiled that down separately. At the end it went in a large non-stick frying pan and with constant stirring reduced to a very thick paste. This had a very strong taste, sweet and sour at the same time. I put this in a freezer jar and into the freezer. It never froze!!! I used it for about a year, just a dab in different recipes to add flavor, made a great redeye gravy. Remember the seeds and gel were previously stripped, so it was less sour than without doing that.
kj |
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#19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 6a - NE Tennessee
Posts: 4,538
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Kenny J - I think that to add water back in would be hard unless you have easy access to demineralized water, such as that sold for use in steam irons. Tap water contains stuff that wasn't in those tomatoes when you picked them. I think a change of taste would be a high probability.
After I cut up the tomatoes into ~1" pieces, I use a Back-To-Basics Food Mill to strain out the seeds and pieces of the skins. Everything coming out of that operation goes into the pot. After bringing it to a boil, I reduce the heat to get a simmer that just barely rolls the liquid in the center of the pot. This allows water reduction without any sign of burning. I don't even get a thick layer of pulp on the bottom of my 12 quart pot. Last night, I turned 17.5 quarts of raw juice into 12 quarts plus one pint of tomato juice. I kept a small amount of the original raw juice and compared it to the final result. Other than an easily noticeable difference in the thickness, I saw no change in the flavor. As posted above, the "clear-ish" juice contains a lot of great flavor. Flavor I want my juice. It alls comes down to personal preference. I like thick juice for several reasons. One of those is that it really allows all of the flavors to come thru to me during those long winter months when I miss my heirlooms and can only find cardboard tasting commercial tomatoes to make my BLT's. You know, take a bite of the BLT and a sip of that wonderful tomato juice canned last summer. Yeah, I know it's pretending and ain't quite the same, but if you close your eyes just for a moment, ........ ![]() Well, now I have 28 quarts of "this summer" and still have more to come. AAAAHHHHHH!!!! Life is good.
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Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch |
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#20 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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#21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 6a - NE Tennessee
Posts: 4,538
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Tracey, I tried to put together some homemade V8 juice, but just couldn't get the quantities of liquid from each item correct. Take for example the Beet Juice. Which kind of beet and how is that juice recovered/processed before it goes into the mix. There are a lot of recipes that can be had on line, but I haven't found one that details the individual components.
Try mixing some gin or vodka with a couple ounces of Margarita mix and then add the V-8 juice. With Vodka, I call it a "Moscow Maria". Cracked ice in a tall glass with a straw. It will take some peppery heat if you care to add some. There are times when "Grandpa Teddy" needs a lot of "medicine". ![]()
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Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch |
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#22 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Chicago IL
Posts: 857
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I separate clear part and meaty one by bringing pot with fresh, slightly squished tomatoes to some heat and then letting it sit for an hour or two, gets separated really fast and I can it separated as veggie broth, it tastes wonderfully. Thick part gets into strainer and other things are done like sauce etc. I do not like to cook tomatoes for long time.
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#23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Missouri
Posts: 407
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I have found that by cutting the mators up the day before and putting them in a pan overnight, in the fridge, that a lot of the "water" will drain out. When I have more time I will read the rest of this thread because I can a a lot of tomatoes, salsa, paste, juice, and even ketchup.
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I grow a garden not just for the food I harvest, but for the creation of life itself. Johnny Cash |
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#24 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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#25 |
Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7
Posts: 2,821
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Ted, I can't give you the "why" (that would be an Alton Brown question) but yes cooking does change flavor. Think if you put all the ingredients for chili in a pot and didn't cook it. And then how it tastes after an hour of cooking...or a few hours of cooking. Even the next day.
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Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal |
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#26 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Just look at the below post.
Worth Last edited by Worth1; September 4, 2014 at 09:37 PM. |
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#27 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Missed a gear somewhere.
![]() Can get the stupid link to work. Last edited by Worth1; September 4, 2014 at 09:38 PM. |
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