Grandma’s Homemade Spiced Tomato Juice has phenomenal flavors with fresh garden ripened tomatoes and a hint of green bell peppers and onion. It blows the store bought tomato juice out of the water, and for many recipes, it is worth the extra effort for great flavor.
I have vivid memories of helping my Grandma Koch can everything from tomatoes and green beans, to sauerkraut and pickles. She had, what felt like a field as a child, for a garden. It was massive and the produce that it generated was overwhelming. Nothing went to waste in the Koch household though, so every last vegetable was canned. After my grandmother passed away when I was young, my mother took home some of her canned goods that overflowed from her pantry. 10-15 years later, I kid you not, we were still eating the sauerkraut that my grandmother had canned. Now, I know that is not in accordance with food safety rules, but my mother was not about to let perfectly good produce go to waste. Haha! We never got sick much as children, so perhaps it was helping build up our immune systems. 😉
I was recently going through some old photos and came across this picture of myself at my Grandma’s house helping can tomatoes. They liked to utilize the young children for our small hands that could easily stuff the jars! Sometimes looking at old photos such as these, makes me a little sad. We missed out on so many years of such a great Grandma and all the great experiences we would have had with her growing up. But then I remember, that we were fortunate to have the years and memories that we do, because many people are never so lucky to experience such a fantastic Grandma!
So in honor of my Grandma Koch and a little bit of Flash Back Friday, I wanted to share her great canned tomato juice recipe with you all. Use it in your favorite recipe that calls for tomato juice, or do like my family and just dump it on a bowl of hot pasta for a quick meal. It has such great depth of flavor, it holds up well in any dish!
Homemade Spiced Tomato Juice - Canning Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 lb. tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 1 green pepper
- 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. celery salt
- 1 Tbsp pickling salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
Instructions
- To get started, run your canning jars through the dishwasher for a good cleaning.
- Meanwhile, finely cut the tomatoes, onion and pepper. In a large kettle bring the vegetables to a rolling boil. Place the vegetables in a food mill and grind the mixture to release the juice into a large pot and discard the pulp.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the juice and boil for an additional 5 minutes. Ladle the juice into pint jars to within a 1/2 inch of the top. Be sure and wipe the rims of the jars clean before placing the lids on so they seal properly.
- Place the sealed jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and let sit until cool.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Barb says
I’m looking ahead for canning season. I am going to use this recipe. Does the lemon juice change the taste of the tomato juice. I don’t think I’m going to add lemon juice anyway and was just wondering about it. I am old fashioned and I don’t have a pressure canner and am not getting one at this stage of the game!
Danielle Green says
It doesn’t affect the taste but is important for safe acidity levels in canned tomatoes, so please don’t leave it out!
Nancy says
Thank you for this recipe…can’t wait to try it…and yes you do need pickling salt when preserving….I’ve been preserving vegetables for 54 years….thx again
ANN WARDARSKI says
I love recipes from the past. They are the best.
Just like when I found out heirloom tomatoes were the ones
my grandpa planted in his garden. those are the ones I plant now.
And once you bite into that tomatoe the flavor sends you back to standing in your grandpas garden
devouring everything in sight so good.
All the hybrids out there you forget what they are suppose to taste like.
I can not wait to try your recipe.
Thanks
M j palevich says
Thank you for sharing your grandma’s recipe I love to can tomato juice and I made up my own recipe which people love but I am going to try your grandma’s recipe no doubt it is delicious thanks again and keep the tradition rolling ??
Danielle Green says
Hope you enjoy it!
Adam says
Thanks for sharing this was tasty
Vanessa says
There usually is a call for lemon juice or cider vinegar. I am I missing it in this recipe? How does it preserve without it?
Danielle - The Creative Bite says
No lemon juice or vinegar. The salt is a preservative.
Vanessa says
Perfect. Thank you for the quick response.
Dee says
If you have low acid tomatoes you MUST put in lemon juice or vinegar to make them safe for canning/ preserving. Not all tomatoes are high in acid, if your not sure it is best to add a Tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint.
Mike Bell says
I second that! Salt is NOT a preservative in canning. The right amount of acid and heat are critical for safe canning. Salt is unnecessary except for flavor. This recipe has a lot of salt – tomato juice canning recipes typically have only 1 teaspoon salt per quart.
Jim Mason says
Very true concerning the salt Mike. Needed only for taste. I always put 1 tsp. per quart and one tsp. Lemon per Quart. I’ve been making homemade tomato juice for years. I recently drank a quart made in June 2015…..Just like I made it yesterday. Note:: I believe my strainer is well over 100 years old. I’m 73 and it was used by my grandmother and mother.
Paige says
How much juice does this recipe make? Thanks! 🙂
Danielle | Krafted Koch says
Hey Paige, this recipe will make about 10 pints of juice.
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Awww what a sweet bank of memories! Love the photo 🙂 I bet this is delicious!