Tomato Juice Canning
As the summer ends, many of us are left with an abundance of tomatoes that need to be used before they all go bad. Now, not all of us have our own garden where this is a problem, me included, BUT this does mean that you can find a pretty good deal at a local farmers market for buying them in bulk. Now, if you only want to make what you need for the immediate future, you don’t have to worry about the bulk buying and can still follow these steps for making tomato juice, just skip the canning step.
The reason I like to can tomato juice is not because I am an avid drinker of this juice, it is because tomato juice is a staple for so many different recipes. It is far easier to pull a jar off the shelf and make an impromptu soup, sauce, or even use as an ingredient in a main dish than to have to make it each time or buy it from the store. Moreover, you are canning it fresh either from your own garden, the neighbors who have to many, or from supporting a local farmer, which doesn’t get better than that if you ask me and will hands down beat anything store bought.
I bought mine from Broken Roots Farm, located in central Illinois. I love to support local and was delighted to meet Farmer Becca when I visited the Farmers Market. She was a pleasure to talk with and gave me an incredible tip for canning, you want to start the process when the tomato skin begins to wrinkle just slightly. This will be the height of the flavor profile for tomato. Now if you are doing this in bulk, not every single tomato is going to be on the same schedule, so start the juicing when you notice that enough of them have the wrinkled skin. If you wait for all of them to wrinkle, some might go bad.
Tip:
If your tomatoes are still super firm and have smooth skin, place them by a window with some sunlight, this will help speed up the ripening.
What you need
15 pounds tomatoes
¼ tsp citric acid per pint jar or ½ tsp per quart jar
Food mill or juicer
Directions
Wash all tomatoes and quarter or half them.
Place in boiling water and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Remove from water and run through a food mill. For a thicker juice, run the scraps through a second time.
OPTIONAL: If you would like to cook off any excess water, bring the juice to a boil over medium heat. The juice can be cooked as long as desired to condense and bring to a consistency that you like.
Pour juice into sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Add citric acid to each jar. Fit with lids and rings.
Place in a boiling water bath fitted with a rack to lift the jars off the bottom of the kettle. Return to a boil and process for 35-40 minutes depending on jar size.
Carefully remove the jars from the water bath and cool at room temperature for at least 12 hours. (Make sure you hear that pop!)
Check for a good seal and store at room temperature.
