Tomato Juice

I am preparing my 1st batch of tomato juice and would like to know if and when I can add some cutting celery to it. Should it be added from the start or later after the tomatoes are cooked down some? I will be using a Foley mill to strain it. We like it sort of like V8- a little spicy and celery taste. All help will be appreciated.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

I am preparing my 1st batch of tomato juice and would like to know if and when I can add some cutting celery to it. Should it be added from the start or later after the tomatoes are cooked down some? I will be using a Foley mill to strain it. We like it sort of like V8- a little spicy and celery taste. All help will be appreciated.

Dump everythi8ng in the pot. It is called INJUN Cooking. I usually add celery to the juice. A few beets enhance the red color.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?YCVZV 17 August 2014 Tomato Juice
Thirty one liter jars of juice were made from about 35 pounds of tomatoes. Two beets were added to enhance the red color, two onions for flavor as was some celery. The process took two batches, since only about 20 pounds can be processed in each pot.The processed juice was pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature.Pictures depict the process.Tomatoes are not prolific this year due to cold temperatures and sparse Sun.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AGNPW 6 August 2014 Cucumber Tomato Juice
Many cucumbers were available from the garden and the tomatoes are starting to produce. About 30 pounds total was made into juice in two batches. A total of 13 liters of juice was obtained and pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes. Annotated pictures depict the method used.

[Carriehelene]

so I processed 25 pint of tomatoes today. Was wondering if the juice leftover can be turned into tomato juice? If so, recipe? Thanks!

[ContainerTed]

What does the leftover liquid look like? Is it red? Does it include any pulp? How much do you have?

Assuming you want to keep it, boil it down a bit if there is an abundance of clear liquid. This will keep the flavors and thicken it up some. Keep the boil VERY low. If you are getting lots of bubbling, it may burn it or scorch it. When you get it to the right thickness, taste it. If it needs a bit of sweetener, or anything else you want in there to bend the taste, now is the time to add it.

Add up to one teaspoon of canning salt to each quart jar, or you can use lemon juice or pectin. But I think citrus changes the overall taste, so I do the salt. Process in a water bath or pressure canner per manufacturer's recommendations.

If your liquid is really clear and thin, you might want to squeeze a few toms to add the pulp. But, the liquid is all about flavor. Boil it down slowly and you'll know the taste of summer this winter.

[Carriehelene]

Cool. The juice was very red, and thicker than it usually is, that's what made me wonder to begin with. Guess I did a better job than usual getting rid of excess juice while seeding it. Thanks!

[ContainerTed]

Great, I'm happy you don't have to waste it. Just always remember to adjust the taste before it goes into the jar. You know, I only use salt because it adds to the flavor and helps with the long term storage.

You can start with the juice, and then add things to bring the taste around to almost any tomato-based soup flavor you like and then put it into the jar. Campbell's tomato soup can be closely duplicated with juice from good tasting tomatoes, a little bit of salt, and (for me) a little fresh ground pepper.

Thick juice out of the jars, some diced up veggies and a couple of favorite herbs with some citrus and you have great salsas.

Take care

[wildcat62]

Not trying to step on any toes but thought I would chime in on this thread. My wife & I recently purchased a Victario strainer and now have a surplus of tomatoes. I'm trying to find a simple recipe for making tomato juice. We would of course be using the new strainer & a simple bath but we aren't sure of cooking times??? I'm sure there are recipes on here somewhere but can you point me in the right direction? I'll continue to look...

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by wildcat62

Not trying to step on any toes but thought I would chime in on this thread. My wife & I recently purchased a Victario strainer and now have a surplus of tomatoes. I'm trying to find a simple recipe for making tomato juice. We would of course be using the new strainer & a simple bath but we aren't sure of cooking times??? I'm sure there are recipes on here somewhere but can you point me in the right direction? I'll continue to look...

No you aren't stepping on toes.

Are you asking about juice reducing times or processing times as in water bath to can them?

The reducing time can vary the processing time is the same.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html
As for reducing let the juice simmer til it gets thick this way you dont have the clear watery stuff in the end in your jars.
Then you can dilute it as you wish when you open the jar up.
This can take a while.

Worth

[coronabarb]

If you are looking for a tomato juice with a few veggies in it, here is a recipe you can water bath can. Be sure to add the lemon juice or citric acid though to make it safe.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_veg_juice.html

Here is a simple juice recipe with only tomatoes. The NCHFP recommends the addition of lemon juice/citric acid to tomatoes because they can be borderline on the pH scale. Some folks might not follow the recommendation to only use firm ripe tomatoes and if they use overripe, then the pH could be too high.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html

[coronabarb]

We posted at the same time, Worth ;-)

[wildcat62]

So basically use the Victario to strain any seeds/skin from the tomatoes.
Boil the juice to the desired consistency to reduce water.
Add the lemon juice or acid.
Follow the process times in the chart.
Seems simple enough. What about adding salt ? Can you add the salt instead of the lemon juice or is that for 2 different purposes?
I guess the advantage in using Victario is not having to blanch the tomatoes ?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by wildcat62

So basically use the Victario to strain any seeds/skin from the tomatoes.
Boil the juice to the desired consistency to reduce water.
Add the lemon juice or acid.
Follow the process times in the chart.
Seems simple enough. What about adding salt ? Can you add the salt instead of the lemon juice or is that for 2 different purposes?
I guess the advantage in using Victario is not having to blanch the tomatoes ?

Citric acid would be what I would use instead of lemon juice.
If you do use the juice use the bottle not from a lemon that way the acidity will always be the same.
It is the part that makes sure your PH is below 4.6
Salt/acid two different things.
You cant interchange them.
Salt to taste or no salt at all it is your choice.
I prefer less salt because it hides the tomato flavor.
One 7.5 oz bottle of citric acid will can up to 77 quarts of tomatoes.
Do not confuse it with fruit fresh.
Fruit fresh is ascorbic acid, not the same as citric acid.
Some people blanch even using the tomato juicer.
It also take the work out of processing tomatoes the old way the way we did.


Worth

[wildcat62]

Thank you all for the help. Loads of information & nice people on this website.

[Worth1]

The only other advice I can give you is to reduce it to more of a sauce Constancy but don't over heat ie burn.

And dont add a bunch of crazy ingredients just keep it simple.
Tomato citric acid and salt.
That way you can not only drink it but cook with it also.
Any spices can be added later.
I use the low sodium V/8 juice instead of tomato sauce for my chili.

Worth

[joseph]

Clear tomato juice bottles the same way as pulpy juice. I typically use clear juice in soups.