Canned Homemade Tomato Juice

Canned Homemade Tomato Juice

image_pdfCreate PDFimage_printPrint Page

Your Key Ingredient to Food Preservation:

NESCO Smart Canner

NESCO 6-Piece Canning Kit

NESCO Electric Food Strainer

Ingredients:

  • 14 pounds ripe garden tomatoes, cored and quartered (for about 9 pints; use ~23 lb for 7 quarts)
  • 9 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, for acidifying (1 tbsp per pint jar; or use 1/4 tsp citric acid per pint instead)
  • 4.5 teaspoons salt, optional, to taste (about 1/2 tsp per pint jar)

Instructions:

  1. Wash and trim tomatoes: Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and trim off any bruised or discolored portions.
  2. Start the boil: Quickly cut about 1 lb of 14 pounds ripe garden tomatoes, cored and quartered (for about 9 pints; use ~23 lb for 7 quarts)into quarters and put directly into a saucepan. Heat immediately to boiling while crushing with a potato masher or similar tool.
  3. Add remaining tomatoes and simmer: Continue to slowly add and crush the remaining cut tomato quarters into the boiling mixture, keeping it boiling constantly and vigorously as you add. Once all pieces are added, simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Strain the juice: Press the hot mixture through a sieve or food mill — or run it through the NESCO Electric Food Strainer per the manufacturer’s instructions — to remove skins and seeds and produce smooth juice.
  5. Reheat juice to boiling: Return the strained juice to the pot and heat again to a full boil.
  6. Acidify the jars: Add 9 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, for acidifying (1 tbsp per pint jar; or use 1/4 tsp citric acid per pint instead — see notes)(or citric acid, see notes) to each jar, along with 5 teaspoons salt, optional, to taste (about 1/2 tsp per pint jar) if desired.
  7. Fill and seal jars: Fill jars with the boiling hot tomato juice, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic spatula, wipe jar rims clean, and apply lids and bands until fingertip tight.
  8. Set up the Smart Canner: Place the liner pot in the NESCO Smart Canner, then place the canning rack in the bottom of the liner pot.
  9. Load jars and water: Load the filled jars onto the rack. For the water bath setting, jars must be completely covered with water that is at least 1–2 inches above the tops of the jars.
  10. Select WB/Steam program: Press the WB/Steam button. Press TIME (+) to set the process time per NCHFP: pints 35 min / quarts 40 min at 0-1,000 ft; pints 40 / quarts 45 min at 1,001-3,000 ft; pints 45 / quarts 50 min at 3,001-6,000 ft; pints 50 / quarts 55 min above 6,000 ft. Make sure the Pressure Limiting Valve is set to Exhaust (NOT Airtight — this is a water-bath process).
  11. Start and reach a boil: Press Start (do not press Pressure Cook). The display lights will rotate, and the unit should reach a boil, with a constant, steady stream of steam from the Pressure Exhaust Valve.
  12. Begin processing timer: Once you see a constant stream of steam, press Start again — the processing timer will begin automatically and run for the time you set in step 10. CAUTION: do not press Start a third time, as this will shut the unit down completely.
  13. Cool jars: When the cycle finishes, let the unit rest 20–30 minutes before turning the lid to the open position. Remove the jars and let them cool on a towel or rack for 12–24 hours.
  14. Check seals and store: Check the seals — lids should not flex up and down when pressed. Reprocess or refrigerate any jar that didn’t seal.

Recipe adapted from NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation) — Tomato Juice