Recipe · summer
Tomato Juice
Use the freshest, juiciest tomatoes for this — meaty varieties like Romas aren't the best choice here. Cindy's own shortcut: tomato powder and cold water make an instant glass any time of year.
Meal: preserveMain: tomatoHands-on: min
Ingredients
- Ripe juicy tomatoes, washed and cored
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice per quart of juice
- Seasoning of choice (pepper, celery salt, garlic salt, onion salt, dill salt, or plain salt)
- Shortcut: 2 Tbsp tomato powder + 1 cup cold water per serving
Steps
- 1If using a juicer, juice the tomatoes directly.
- 2If not, chop tomatoes coarsely, add to a pot with a cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer until softened, mash, then strain through a fine sieve to remove seeds and skins.
- 3For each quart of juice, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and your choice of seasoning; stir to dissolve.
- 4To can: heat seasoned juice to almost boiling, pour into hot quart jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace, seal, and process in a water bath canner for 45 minutes (quarts) or 40 minutes (pints), timed from a full rolling boil.
- 5For the instant version, just stir tomato powder into cold water until fully dissolved and season to taste.
Meet the plant
- TomatoThe loud, generous neighbour who shows up with more than you asked for.
Tips that help here
- Canning Once-Frozen TomatoesFrozen tomatoes can be canned after thawing — but the texture changes, so choose the right finished product and follow safe acidification.
- Water Deep, Not OftenShallow daily sips train roots to stay near the surface where it's hottest.
- Label the Lid, Not the JarA small habit that saves an hour every canning season.
More like this
- Roasted Tomato SauceCindy's favorite way to make tomato sauce — slow oven-roasting instead of stovetop simmering, for a richer flavour you won't go back from.
- Tomato JamA rich, slow-cooked balance of sweet, savoury, and tangy — spread it on a BLT, grilled cheese, a burger, or a charcuterie board.
- Canned Whole TomatoesThe classic hot-water-bath method for putting up whole tomatoes — plus the acid rules that keep it safe, since tomatoes sit right on the borderline between high- and low-acid foods.