Flavorful Tomato Juice Recipes

TOMATO VEGETABLE JUICE

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes in half or quarters. Cut the celery into 3-4 pieces, thinly slice the carrots, peel and quarter the onion, peel the garlic. Honestly, you don't have to cut the tomatoes, but cutting them helps them cook a little bit faster.
• Place all the ingredients EXCEPT the lemon juice in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and keep cooking, for about 30-45 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft.
• If you are using beets and carrots, they take a little bit longer to cook through and get soft, so you will need to cook the juice a little bit longer. If you are just using tomatoes, onions, garlic and celery, 30 minutes should be enough time.
• Use a potato masher or a immersion blender to mash up all the vegetables. This will get you a lot more juice and it will be faster to strain. If you have a food mill, you can use that instead. Pour in the lemon juice.
• The lemon juice will help to make sure there is enough acidity to be at a safe ph level for canning. The lemon juice won't change the flavor. Although almost all tomatoes will already be high enough in acidity for canning - it is a simple extra step to ensure safety.
• Strain the tomato juice through a fine mesh sieve, pushing on the vegetable solids to extract as much juice as possible. Taste the tomato juice and add more salt and/or sugar if needed.
• If you don't sterilize the jars, the juice will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator. You can also freeze tomato juice for up to 1 year.
• Sterilize your canning jars and lids.
• This is how I sterilize jars.
• Wash the jars and lids in hot and soapy water. Then I place the glass jars in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 15 minutes. Using your dishwasher works great too.
• For the lids, I usually bring a pot of water to a boil, take it off the heat and let the lids stay in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes also.
• Pour the strained juice into the sterilized jarsleaving about 1/2″ of space at the top. Wipe the rims of the jars so that they seal properly and top with the lids.
• Out of this amount of tomatoes and vegetables, I was able to get 4 quarts plus a little bit extra. The amount will be slightly different, depending on how juicy the tomatoes are that you are using.
• Place sealed jars in boiling water bath for about 10 minutes. (Make sure you place a towel at the bottom of the pot, so that the jars are not directly touching the pot. Remove from the water and cool completely.
• Store open jars of juice in the refrigerator.

SPICY TOMATO JUICE

Steps:

• Quarter tomatoes; place in a 6-qt. Dutch oven. Add celery, onions, green pepper and parsley. Simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Meanwhile, rinse five 1-quart plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Cool tomato mixture slightly; put through a sieve or food mill. Return to pan. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cool. , Fill all containers to within 1/2 in. of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Freeze up to 12 months. Thaw frozen juice in refrigerator before serving.

HOMEMADE TOMATO JUICE

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients into Dutch oven, bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Put vegetable mixture through a food mill or sieve.
• Stir in salt, paprika and sugar.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Serve over ice if desired.

FLAVORFUL TOMATO JUICE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until tomatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
• When cool, transfer tomato mixture to a blender and process until smooth. Return to saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 3 cups, about 12-18 minutes. Cool.
• Transfer juice mixture to a pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve chilled; store leftovers in refrigerator.
• Note: be sure to wear gloves when handling hot peppers--and don't rub your eyes or nose!