Tomato Garden Juice Blend

Tomato Garden Juice Blend | from the Ball Blue Book | Yield: about 14 pints or 7 quarts

When the life gives you tomatoes, make juice! This garden-blend recipe is delicious served cold and suspect it would make a great base for a Bloody Mary or two. It is particularly gratifying to break the seal of a jar in the dead of winter. My notes for processing are as follows: 22 pounds of tomatoes will require a very large stockpot. Make sure the stockpot is stainless steel to avoid an acidic reaction. This recipe has always yielded an 8th jar, so be prepared with an extra quart jar. The use of a food mill will separate skins and seeds for you and leave some pulp.

Ingredients 

22 pounds tomatoes

¾ cup diced carrots

¾ cup chopped celery

¾ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon salt (optional)

Bottled lemon juice

Method:

Wash tomatoes; drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters. Combine tomatoes and vegetables in a large saucepot; simmer 20 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Juice tomatoes in a food processor or food mill. Strain juice to remove peels and seeds. Stir in salt, if desired. Heat juice 5 minutes at 190°F. Do not boil. Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar, 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart jar. Ladle hot juice into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling-water canner.