Tomato Vegetable Juice Gardener's Delight

By rcjas

Ingredients

• 6 pounds of vine-ripened, organic tomatoes (preferably heirlooms), coarsely chopped
• 2 cups chopped organic white or yellow onion
• 2 1/2 cups chopped organic celery
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley (stems are fine)
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 6 drops hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Sriracha (I love this stuff)
• Splash or two of Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Details

Adapted from farmgirlfare.com

Preparation

Step 1

Put all the ingredients in a large stainless steel pot. Bring them to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until very soupy, about 40 minutes.

If a thicker juice is desired, first carefully blend the vegetable mixture in batches in a counter top blender, then put it through a food mill. (I love my Oxo Good Grips food mill)*. For a smoother and more delicate juice, go straight to the food mill.

A sieve might work but it would probably take forever. Next time I'll try using my KitchenAid hand blender (probably the best $50 I ever spent in the kitchen) instead of the counter top blender. Update: The hand blender worked really well.

Chill for at least several hours before adding more salt or other seasonings. This juice will keep for at least a week in the fridge. I tried freezing some in a small plastic freezer container, but haven't defrosted it yet. I'll let you know how it comes out when I do.

Update: When I defrosted the frozen tomato juice it had separated some, so that you could see teeny bits of tomato. It tasted okay but looked a little odd. I put it in the blender, and that made it all bubbly and sort of orange, though after sitting in the fridge for a while it settled down. For long term storage, this juice would probably fare better if canned in jars using the instructions below. If you use the frozen juice in a recipe, I'm sure it would work fine.

To preserve your juice in glass jars: Heat juice 5 minutes at 190°F. Do not boil. Add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to each quart jar. Add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid to each pint jar. Ladle hot juice into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 40 minutes and quarts 45 minutes in a boiling water canner.

*Food mill note: I bought a Foley food mill on a whim last year because I saw it somewhere on sale and had been wanting a food mill for ages. It worked fine for this recipe, but I really wish I'd am so glad I upgraded to this Oxo Good Grips food mill, especially since it has three non-slip legs (I had trouble keeping the Foley balanced on the bowl) and comes with three different grinding discs. Thanks to all of you who told me how much your love your Oxo food mill!