How to Make Tomato Juice with a Blender

Making fresh tomato juice at home could be a real game changer for you! Homemade tomato juice is incredibly satisfying and tastes so much better than store bought! When making tomato juice at home, you can make as much juice as you need, meaning less wastage and fresh tomato juice on hand at all times.

Additionally you can add other ingredients or other vegetables to give your juice a unique twist. Making your own tomato juice can also have numerous other benefits for both health and flavor, so it's definitely worth taking a little more effort and go homemade.

 

What are the benefits of homemade tomato juice?

The very nature of canning tomato juice is that it will need some additional preservatives in order to extend its life on the shelves. These not only reduce the nutritional value of the juice but can also give it an artificial taste.

Additionally, store bought tomato juice can contain a lot of added sugar, which can obviously mean a much more unhealthy drink. With homemade tomato juice, you can control the sugar content in your recipe. In addition, homemade using fresh tomatoes will likely have a lower sodium content, as many store bought juices contain a lot of salt.

Just as with tomatoes themselves, tomato juice contains a significant amount of vitamin C, great for eye and health benefits. It's also great for helping to prevent certain cancers and to stop heart disease.

Making your own tomato juice is also a great idea for saving money. Store bought tomato juice can be expensive, so if you grow tomatoes in your garden and then process themselves, you'll be able to create tomato juice with more flavor at a fraction of the cost of store bought juices.

 

What are the best tomatoes to use to make tomato juice?

As with many other tomato recipes, the freshest tomatoes are the best ones to use. The type of tomatoes you use is actually down to personal preference, but organic tomatoes are typically better than commercially grown tomatoes. Fresh produce will not use pesticides, which could give your tomato juice an unwelcome chemical flavor.

Early Girl and Big Boy tomato varieties produce more juice but you may prefer a thicker juice created by Roma tomatoes.

 

How can I use tomato juice?

Of course, tomato juice doesn't necessarily just need to be made for drinking. You can also make fantastic cocktails such as a Bloody Mary, or a spicy tomato juice by adding a dash of tabasco hot sauce to taste. The juice can also act as the base for a tomato sauce for pasta or mixed with celery, onion, and pepper to create a delicious soup base.

A tomato mixture with fresh herbs can also act as a pizza base.

 

How many tomatoes do I need per cup of juice?

Generally, 2 pounds of tomatoes will make you around 4 to 5 cups of juice. It depends somewhat on you juice recipe and how fine you blend your juice.

 

Ingredients to make tomato juice in a blender

To make a simple tomato juice in a blender, you can follow this very simple juice recipe, with a very short prep time. You will need:

• Tomatoes
• Salt (optional but a little salt is good to taste)
• Citric Acid or bottle lemon juice
• A knife
• A blender
• A Strainer or even pantyhose!
• A funnel
• Canning jars with lids

 

Process: How to make tomato juice with a blender

Firstly, you need to wash tomatoes thoroughly, as they may harbor bugs and blemishes which will definitely detract from the flavor! You can keep the skins on to cook.

Cut the tomatoes into chunks and cook over a medium heat. Cook the tomatoes until soft, which normally takes around 10 minutes. Cool completely and transfer the mixture to a tomato juice blender. Blend until smooth.

If you would like your juice to be completely smooth, you can pass it though a sieve, cheesecloth or even pantyhose to remove any seeds or pulp that has not broken down. It is best to then serve the juice immediately.

Alternatively, you can store the juice in an airtight container such as canning jars with lids, using a funnel, or alternatively you can place in a freezer safe container and place into the freezer for a longer life.

 

How do I store the juice at home?

You can store cans of tomato juice for up to a year, or in a freezer for up to 18 months. For a convenient portion of tomato juice, you can turn them into ice cubes and simply take out what you need, when you need it.

In the fridge, you should aim to use the juice within a week. You'll notice the your tomato juice is going bad by the sour smell or discoloration. It's best to just make enough juice for your needs.

 

What are the best blenders to use to make homemade tomato juice?

Blending tomato juice is probably best served by a kitchen or worktop blender. At Extreme Wellness Supply, we have a range of blenders including the Tribest Dynablend Horsepower Plus DB-950A High Power Blender at the lower end of the budget spectrum or the Kuvings SV500 Vacuum Blender for a vacuum blending which removes unnecessary air before blending, creating a smoother finish.

 

What do I do next?

Whichever blender you decide to use for this task, Extreme Wellness Supply will have a model to suit.

Tip: you can use your blender to experiment with other types of juices too! Check out our tips and tricks for making apple juice and celery juice in a blender.