Tomato Juice: How to Prepare and Preserve

To my recollection, the last time I canned anything was around 20 years ago. As I am producing my own food, canning is one of the homestead activities I want to incorporate back into my life. One family branch has a tradition of eating tomato gravy at Christmas gatherings. I have been blessed with a wonderful crop of heirloom tomatoes. In August of 2019, I decided to make tomato juice for my own consumption and as a base for the tomato gravy this coming holiday season.

Prep Tomatoes for Tomato Juice

First, gathering a knife, a pan of cool water, 2 clean pots, a scrap bucket, and of course a five-gallon bucket full of tomatoes, I sat on the front porch of my neighbor’s house and cut up tomatoes.

I removed any bad spots and the cores. These large, heirloom tomatoes filled 2 pots. I spent 30 to 40 minutes cutting these up.

Before I started cooking the tomatoes on the stove, I cleaned up the jars I wanted to use.  My basement has become dirty over the last few years. So, I cleaned them outside with a hose, before cleaning them again inside.

Cook Tomatoes

I added a glass of water to the smaller pan, and 2 glasses of water to the larger pan.  I realized later I did not need to add that much water.  While I have canned food before, tomato juice is a first for me. 

My plan was to work with my friend, but she needed to be elsewhere.  I knew I needed to process those tomatoes or I would end up not getting it done. Feeling excited and a bit unsure, I decided I would move ahead one step at a time.  I expected her to return home while I was cooking the tomatoes off, however as life happens, she was unable to be there as early as she thought. I looked up online how long to water bath tomato juice.

As the tomatoes cook, I prepared candy onions and garlic to add to the tomato juice. I added two onions and a garlic clove to one of the pots as the tomatoes cooked for an experiment of sorts.

 I phoned another friend of mine. I felt a bit unsure. After our chat, I felt more confident. I decided how I was going to add the garlic and onion. I would place one garlic clove and a small onion or a portion of an onion in the jars, for additional flavor. Oops, I realized by that point that I added more water than I needed to. The additional veggies would give the juice additional flavor. Thanks, Dolli!

A closer look at the lids and rings I had found new in their package in my basement, showed me the lids were definitely not fit to use.  When the tomatoes were sufficiently cooked, I ran into town to buy new lids. 

Stomp Tomatoes to Make Tomato Juice

Using a large pan and stomper, I set out to make my first tomato juice. I pictured myself pouring the contents of the pan (cooked off tomatoes) into the stomper.  I seen myself making a huge mess.  Instead, I used a ladle to place the cooked tomatoes in the stomper. 

My mind wonder as I pushed out the juice to the days of my past.  I remember making applesauce in my grandma’s kitchen using similar tools.  I am quite fond of applesauce.  Remembering fond memories of my youth when member of the family would work together preserving food, feelings of nostalgia lurked in my mind.  Despite beginning to get tired, I felt excited to be canning again. Canning touches the creative side of me.

Jars

Inside I rinsed and dried 6-quart jars and 7-pint jars in hot, hot water. I allowed them to air dry on a towel.  I again used a ladle to dip the juice from the pan into the jars. 

When my friend returned home, I ask her, “do you have a faster way to do this?” We laughed as she said, “oh yes, I do. What was I thinking?” That certainly sped up the process.  She handed me a funnel and measuring cup. The measuring cup had a handle and a spout to pour out of. Perfect!

With the jars full, I cleaned of the rims of the jars.  The things that come back to me as I went through this process. I remember my grandma using this little sauce pan to heat the lids before placing them on the jars.  I am quite certain I have that little pan somewhere, or one like it.  For this process, I skipped that step. 

Canning Process

Placing lids and rims on the 6-quart jars that I had cleaned the rims into the canner they went. We used her tap water to fill the canner (water bath). The water almost reached the top of the jars. I waited until the water was at a rolling boil. 

I took note of the time and made a metal note of what time the jars would be done. During this time, I continued stomping the second pot of cooked tomatoes.  I had enough to fill the 7 pint jars I had cleaned.  When the pints were filled, clean and covered with lids and rims. I washed up as many of the dishes as I could.

There was only a small amount of waste from all of the tomatoes that were cooked and stomped. To take a guess, I would say it would not have filled a quart jar. Her chickens would get them for a treat. The waste from cutting the tomatoes before cooking went to my house. 

When the quarts were done cooking, I ran home to get my own canner. Returning, I took the 7 quarts home in that and later that night I canned those.  A side note here: I used water purchased in town to process the pints at home. The tap water left a residue on the quart jars. The purchased water did not.

Cool

I removed the quart jars from the canner placing them on a towel on the counter.  I covered the 6 jars with another towel. Some of the jars had already begun to seal. They sat on my friend’s counter for a couple days until I could get back over to pick them up.

Storing Tomato Juice

On Tuesday, I stored them in my basement.  Here they will sit for future use.  The 6 quarts are for making tomato gravy at one of the family Christmas gathering.  Yum, I feel hungry thinking about the delicious taste. Have you ever eaten tomato gravy?  Leave me a comment below to let me know.

I skipped the part where I write the date on the lids.  If I can more, I will go ahead and date them.

Yield

I was rewarded with 6 quarts and 7 pints.