Homemade Tomato Juice

With a garden still full of ripe tomatoes, we’ve been experimenting with an old family recipe for Homemade Tomato Juice that comes from my husband Jack’s side of the family!

The original recipe was from Jack’s grandmother, and it was hand written in a mix of English and Italian! (Unfortunately – it was also faded and a little difficult to read!) But Jack was able to decipher enough of the recipe for us to use as a starting point for this homemade tomato juice – and he adapted and modernized it a bit with some of the ingredients we used.

Hands down – the results are fantastic! This is some of the best tomato juice we’ve ever had – homemade or store-bought! It’s actually made from more than just tomatoes – including onions, celery, bell pepper, carrots, and beets, plus a variety of fresh herbs and other seasonings.

What you get is the perfect balance of fresh garden vegetables cooked down into a healthy, tasty homemade tomato juice!

And be sure to check out this great recipe using our homemade tomato juice – our Nautical Mary is a delicious twist on the classic Bloody Mary cocktail!

Homemade Tomato Juice

• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 2 1/2 quarts

Ingredients

• 5 pounds fresh very ripe garden tomatoes (we recommend including some small, sweet varieties such as cherry or orange sun glow tomatoes along with the larger varieties)
• 1 ½ cups celery with leaves, roughly cut up
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley including stems
• 1 orange bell pepper cut into chunks
• ½ cup carrot roughly cut
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon sriracha
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 small knob fresh ginger peeled (about one inch)
• 1 small beet peeled and roughly cut (about ½ cup)
• ¼ cup sugar

Instructions

1. Core and remove stems from the tomatoes and cut into quarters.
2. Place all ingredients into a large pot, cover and bring to a boil and cook on a low boil for ten minutes.
3. Remove cover and push everything down to submerge and set to a medium simmer.
4. Simmer for 25 minutes uncovered, then remove from the heat and cool slightly.
5. Using a food mill (see here or here), press everything through the mill. Pour remaining liquid in with milled vegetables.
6. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or sieve placed over a large enough bowl to collect the juice.
7. Refrigerate the juice until chilled – then serve!
8. This tomato juice will stay fresh refrigerated for up to a week. Leftovers may be frozen in zipper seal bags.

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Nautical Mary

Italian Tomato Sauce

Grandma Gennaco’s Beef Braciole