3 Reasons You Should Can Tomato Juice
By Galen Lehman, Lehman’s Hardware

A few nights ago, we canned our own tomato juice. We found out that it is very efficient and easy! Discover the three reasons why you should can tomato juice every year.

3 Reasons You Should Can Tomato Juice

Reason #1: Tomatoes are EASY TO GROW!

You can even grow them in containers if you don’t have room for a garden! In fact, they are so easy to grow that when they are in season they will most likely produce far more than you can eat. Canning them is a perfect solution.

Reason #2: Homegrown Tomatoes Taste a MILLION TIMES BETTER!

I have a friend who won’t eat tomatoes. But, she’s only ever tasted store-bought tomatoes. All the tomatoes at your local grocery, even the ones that say “picked ripe,” are picked too green to eat. With time, they turn red. However, I have read that tomatoes are the only fruit that does not ripen after it has been picked. It may be red, but the tomato tastes exactly the same as it did when it was picked. Green tomatoes have virtually no taste! Ripe tomatoes, picked red just as they start to turn soft, are bursting with flavor. Once you’ve picked and eaten a ripe tomato, you will never go back!

Reason#3: There are SERIOUS HEALTH CONCERNS with factory canned tomatoes 

Whether it’s canned tomatoes, tomatoes paste or tomato juice, factory tomato cans often contain aluminum or BPA. Over time the acid in the tomatoes attacks and absorbs these dangerous chemicals, creating a toxic stew of tomatoes that were picked green, aluminum, and BPA. Home-canned tomato products don’t carry any of these dangers, and tomatoes are a good ‘starter’ project for folks new to gardening and preserving.

The Lehman Family’s Quick & Easy Way to Can Tomato Juice Recipe 

Here’s how we can tomato juice: We cut our ripe tomatoes in half, and also cut out any bad spots. We filled an 8-quart kettle with one picking of our tomatoes from just two plants. Then, we added about 1 ½? of water and sprinkle canning salt over the tomatoes. Next, we cooked the batch on low heat for about 20 minutes. The tomatoes are ready to juice when they are soft and the skin is wrinkly.

You can also cook in jalapeno peppers, green peppers, onions or pepper to create the flavor you like. The right kind of food mill will reduce everything to a consistent juice or sauce. We make ours plain because we use it for drinking, cooking, and making sauce. We add the other flavors when we open the canning jars.

Pre-heat your jars on a sheet cake tray in the oven. Using hot jars helps to keep them from shattering when you pour in the hot juice. It also improves the chances of having a good seal. Sterilize your canning lids in boiling water, OR follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the box (some lids no longer need to be sterilized).

Slowly and carefully, pour the cooked tomatoes into a Lehman’s Weston Food Mill, avoiding splatters, as the tomatoes are hot. A food mill is one of the most amazing time savers ever invented for home canning! Once you pour the tomatoes into the funnel, turn the crank. It quickly and effortlessly separates the juice and pulp from the skin and seeds.

Reasons to Can Tomato Juice