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For those of us who garden and grow tomatoes, there often comes a point in the summer tomato growing season in which the bounty greatly exceeds one’s ability to consume it, in its regular tomato form.
If you find yourself in this position, and you love tomato juice, V8, Bloody or Virgin Mary’s, I highly recommend making your own tomato juice.
My father announced the other day that he was going to make some tomato juice with some of the garden tomatoes that were overflowing our kitchen counter and I thought nothing of it.
But after one taste, wow! This is how V8 should taste.
Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine, who got it from Chef Brill Williams of The Inn at Sawmill Farm in West Dover, Vermont.
Homemade Tomato Juice Recipe
Some tomatoes are sweeter than others, depending on their ripeness and the variety of tomato. Use the ripest tomatoes you can. Added sugar will balance the natural acidity of the tomatoes, use more or less to taste. Tabasco hot sauce is also to taste, depending on your desired level of spiciness.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds very ripe garden tomatoes, cored, roughly chopped
- 1 1/4 cups chopped celery with leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 2 Tbsp sugar (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch black pepper
- A couple shakes of Tabasco sauce, about 6-8 drops (to taste)
Method
1 Put all ingredients into a large non-reactive pot (use stainless steel, not aluminum). Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until mixture is completely soupy, about 25 minutes.
2 Force mixture through a sieve, chinoise,
Store covered and chilled. Will last for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Homemade Tomato Juice
I’ve been making a lot of this lately. It really only works if you use garden fresh super ripe tomatoes. During the summer, I will freeze in quart size baggies and use throughout the winter. Thaw the juice and move to a glass jar so it doesn’t take on the flavor of the baggie. It’s jut as delicious 8 months later as it was fresh. I agree with one other reviewer and only use half the recommended sugar, 1tbsp, but that’s the only change I make.
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Way too sweet, other than that it’s good. I’ll use half as much sugar next time.
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Is it okay if you don’t cook?
Hi Mark, good question! Cooking does help the tomatoes release more of their juices. If you aren’t going to cook the tomatoes, you might want to just put them in a blender and make a raw tomato smoothie.
Awww, c’mon! Can’t I put in just a little jalapeño and cilantro? Please, just a little. I’m sure it’s going to give it just a little south-of-the-border flavor. What do you think?
Go for it Justin! I love the idea of spicing it up a bit with some southwestern zing.
Really good it’s almost like a vegetable drink. I froze it in small containers last year. Have you ever froze it in quart or pint size containers? Another question, if you put lemon juice in it could you can it without changing the taste?
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Hi Jacqueline, I have not tried freezing this juice, but if you do, please let us know how it works out for you. I would recommend defrosting it and drinking it within a couple months though. As for lemon juice and canning, you could use lemon juice, or you could try white vinegar because of its neutral taste. I don’t know about the proportions, I suggest consulting a canning book or the Ball website: https://www.freshpreserving.com/