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Everyone who has ever grown tomatoes in their summer cottage sooner or later asks the question: “What to do with the remaining harvest?” After all, only the very first tomatoes are instantly eaten, while the rest can simply disappear if they are not used for food. Most of the remaining harvest, of course, goes to spinning. But only beautiful, regularly shaped tomatoes are sealed in jars, while unsightly fruits are left to await their fate. And then many people remember tomato juice - the most favorite juice among our compatriots. How to make tomato juice at home will be discussed below.
Benefits of tomato juice
Tomato juice is not just a tasty drink. Its pleasant taste is harmoniously combined with a huge amount of healthy vitamins and minerals. And cooking from independently grown fruits will only add to its benefits. But regardless of whether the fruits were purchased or from the garden, the juice from the tomato will contain:
- vitamins A, B, C, E, H and group P;
- organic acids;
- carbohydrates;
- fiber;
- minerals;
- antioxidants.
Tomato juice is the undisputed leader in the content of vitamins A and C. Fresh tomatoes and their juice have a higher concentration of these vitamins than carrots and grapefruit. In addition, it is the lowest calorie juice. One glass of this delicious drink contains only 36–48 calories, which makes it an excellent tool in the fight against extra pounds.
But the main benefit of this drink lies in the lycopene it contains, a natural antioxidant. This substance can actively resist the formation of cancer cells.
As a remedy, juice made from tomatoes will help with:
- obesity;
- slagging of the body;
- depression or nervous tension;
- diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- diabetes mellitus and other diseases.
All packaged juices not only do not have beneficial properties, but can also be harmful. Therefore, it is recommended to exclude them from the diet or consume them in small quantities.
Making tomato juice at home
Many people think that making homemade tomato juice is quite difficult. In fact, it is no more difficult than making juice from any other vegetable or fruit. This does not require any special skills or culinary talent. There are quite a few ways to make homemade tomato juice. We will talk about the most common of them.
How to choose tomatoes for juice
Of course, it is blasphemy to use beautiful ripe tomatoes for juice, especially when they were grown on your own. Therefore, you can choose worse fruits for tomato juice.
Tomatoes intended for canning are not suitable for this: they have hard skin and dense flesh. You should choose tomatoes only from those varieties whose flesh is juicy and fleshy.
You shouldn’t throw away slightly spoiled tomatoes either. Bruised, slightly burnt tomatoes cannot negatively affect the taste of the finished product. But before using such fruits, all “doubtful” places should be cut out and thrown away.
The number of tomatoes is also important. So, to fill one glass you will only need 2 medium tomatoes, about 200 grams each. If you need more juice, the proportions should be increased, for example, 10 kilograms of tomatoes can yield about 8.5 liters of juice.
Tomato juice at home using a juicer
This method is perhaps the most popular and fastest. But it has one significant drawback - a large amount of waste.
Preparing delicious tomato juice using a juicer takes just a few minutes:
- Tomatoes are washed with warm water.
- Cut into 2 or 4 parts, depending on the size of the juicer neck. At this stage, the stem of the tomato is also removed.
- The resulting products are passed through a juicer.
- Salt and sugar are added to the resulting finished drink to taste.
A sprig of this herbaceous plant can be dipped in juice or crushed in a blender and mixed with juice.
Making tomato juice without a juicer at home
To prepare tomato juice at home without a juicer, you will have to tinker a little. After all, what the juicer did, you will have to do yourself.But in this way, we can avoid a lot of waste and get thick, tasty tomato juice.
The recipe for homemade tomato juice without a juicer is simple:
- Tomatoes are washed with warm water. Cut into medium-sized pieces. Place in a large saucepan or pan and cook over low heat for an average of about an hour. The specific cooking time depends on the density of the selected tomatoes. The main criterion for stopping cooking is the soft, boiled consistency of the tomatoes.
Important! When preparing tomato juice without a juicer, there is one rule: you should never add water during the cooking process. You should wait until the tomatoes release liquid. In this case, you need to stir them periodically.When the tomatoes acquire the required consistency, they are rubbed hot through a sieve.
- Salt and sugar are added to the finished filtered drink to taste.
Before preparing a drink without a juicer, we recommend watching the video:
Tomato juice without a juicer turns out very thick, almost like a puree. Therefore, before use, it is most often diluted with water. But, despite this, many note that the drink according to this recipe is much tastier than the drink prepared through a juicer. In addition, this recipe for tomato juice not only preserves beneficial substances, but also increases the concentration of lycopene, a natural anti-cancer antioxidant.
Preparing tomato juice in a juicer
Before we tell you how to prepare tomato juice using a juicer, we’ll tell you what kind of unit it is. At first glance, the juice cooker looks like several pans inserted into each other. But in fact, its structure is a little more intricate and includes four elements:
- Water container.
- A container where the finished drink is collected.
- Colander for fruits and vegetables.
- Lid.
The operating principle of the juicer is based on the effect of steam on vegetables. The steam that rises from a heated container of water causes vegetables or fruits to release juice, which flows into the juice collector. The finished product is drained from the juice collector through a special tube.
Today, juice cookers are made from only two materials – stainless steel and aluminum. If possible, then preference should be given to a stainless steel juicer. It has increased resistance to mechanical stress, is not affected by aggressive environments and is suitable for any type of hob.
In order to prepare a drink in a juicer, you need to follow a simple algorithm:
- The tomatoes are washed and cut into small pieces.
- The chopped tomatoes are placed in a colander for fruits and vegetables.
- Water is poured into the lower container of the juicer. As a rule, there is a mark on the inner surface of the container indicating the required water level.
- Place a container of water on a stove heated to high heat. The remaining parts of the juice cooker are placed on top of the container: a juice collector, a colander with tomatoes and a lid.
- The average time for preparing tomato juice in this way is 40 – 45 minutes. After this time, it is drained from the juice collector and filtered.
- Salt and sugar are added to the finished drink.
Closing tomato juice for the winter
A freshly squeezed drink can retain its beneficial properties for just a few hours, and only if it is put in the refrigerator. Therefore, if there are a lot of substandard tomatoes left from the harvest, then it would be more rational to close the tomato juice for the winter.
To make this drink for the winter, you can choose any recipe from those discussed above. But if it is prepared using a juicer, then it will need to be cooked additionally. In this case, foam will form on the surface, which must be removed.
Opinions of gardeners and culinary specialists about the need for mandatory sterilization of jars for tomato drink vary greatly. Some people successfully close jars without any sterilization, while others consider this procedure mandatory. We will tell you about each of the methods.
To swirl this drink without sterilizing, the jars must be thoroughly washed. After which they should be placed upside down so that all the water drains out of them. Boiled tomato juice is poured into completely dry jars and rolled up.
Sterilization of jars can be carried out in several ways:
- The first method involves sterilization of jars in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 150 degrees. At the same time, you don’t need to keep them there for a long time; 15 minutes is enough.
- The second method of sterilization is a water bath. As in the previous method, 15 minutes is enough for complete sterilization. After this, the jars must be dried by placing them upside down.
The finished drink in sterilized jars is closed in the same way as in non-sterilized jars. Closed jars are turned upside down and left in this state until they cool completely.
Thus, by spending just a little time, you can not only use the remaining tomato harvest, but also stock up on a tasty and healthy drink.
