Making Homemade Tomato Juice

The amount of canning supplies will depend on the quantity of tomatoes you are working with. Do not peel red ripe tomatoes, just cut into quarters and remove hard core from center. Put 3 to 4 blenders full of tomatoes that have been blended well into boiling pot on medium high heat. (Watch and stir it so it doesn't stick and burn causing black spots in juice.)

The blending will help by giving you some juice to start off with.

Boil all of the cut up tomatoes until peelings are tender, about one hour, stirring frequently. Let cool.

Dip by dippers full into blender and briefly blend, then run through juicer. You should have nothing left but a few peelings and the seed.

After juicing is complete, put one teaspoon salt into quart jars, have canning funnel ready and the hot/boiling jar lids and rings. You can blend other vegetables now, if desired (or you can run these vegetables through the blender first - your choice); just juice them and add to the tomato juice. Blended carrots, celery, etc can be added, but an alternative method is to add these at the beginning to boil along with the sliced tomatoes.

Heat juice to the boiling point and fill quart jars, sealing them with lids and rings. When seven jars are filled, have canner hot with two quarts of water inside. Place jars in hot water in canner and can on five pounds pressure for ten minutes. Turn out onto counter top with a towel placed on top to guard against the heat. Don't move the jars until the next day when jars have had time to completely cool. Be sure that you don't place the jars to cool in a drafty place. (08/18/2006)

By Sharon

Making Homemade Tomato Juice

You absolutely DO need to process the jars unless you are going to use it right away or are going to freeze it. (08/19/2006)

By katie a.

Making Homemade Tomato Juice

If you do not have the equipment to can tomato juice, perhaps this method will help until you do. It's the one I use now that I don't can anymore.

As you acquire tomatoes you would like to turn into juice, either wash outer skin, core and quarter to put in a pan OR slice and puree in a blender. Place in appropriate size pan and slowly bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the pulp is soft and the juice has been extracted. Cool until no longer boiling hot but warm enough to handle. Put through a Foley Food Mill or other tool to force juice and pulp through the sieve holes, leaving behind the skin and seeds. Cool completely and pack in appropriate sized containers for the freezer.

I initially pack in large industrial sized plastic food containers (i.e., cottage cheese containers from local school district), then through the winter, I defrost, put back into pan and cook down for sauce or paste. These I package in 8-oz. yogurt containers for sauce and 6-oz. containers for paste and refreeze. When frozen, pop out of containers and pack 8 to 10 of them in a gallon Ziploc bag.

I find this method extremely helpful for utilizing not only extra tomatoes from the garden but also tomato slices not consumed at the table or unused bits of tomato intended for salad or taco use. It allows me to use up every bit of tomato I have and turn it into juice, sauce and paste that I would have to buy later on.

I add nothing to the tomato juice such as salt, but pass the salt container at serving time as I want to control the amount of salt in finished dishes such as chili or spaghetti sauce. (08/20/2006)

By ronsanmc@alltel.net

Making Homemade Tomato Juice

Depending on how much juice you want to make at one time you don't need to can it, as it will keep in the fridge for a week or so. I have one of those strainers that you turn the handle and the juice comes out one side and the peels and seeds another. I then put the juice in my crock pot on low for the afternoon. You could season it at this point. After it cools I put some in the fridge for immediate use and the rest in the freezer. Mmmm...tasty! (08/21/2006)

By carla bledsoe