Canning Series: Hot and Spicy Tomato Garden Juice

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Tomatoes, tomatoes, and more tomatoes! This has been the weekend for processing tomatoes. Ginny's good friend in Yellow Springs called and generously offered tomatoes for the picking. So once again Ginny and I headed out to Yellow Springs on Friday night to pick. It was another very hot and steamy day. The temperature was 95 degrees with the heat index over 100. We trecked in and out of the field and picked about five bushels of tomatoes. A bushel of tomatoes is approximately 53 pounds.  A big thank you goes out to Peggy for sharing her labor of love with us.

Hot and Spicy Tomato Garden Juice - Makes 14 Pints

Ingregdients:

• 22 Pounds of Tomatoes (I measured in cups and my best guess was approximately 60 cups of tomatoes.)
• 1 Cup Chopped Carrots
• 1 Cup Chopped Celery
• 1 Cup Chopped Green Pepper
• 1 Large Red Onion
• 12 Chopped Jalapeno Pepper (Wear rubber gloves to remove seeds.)
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley (I was out of fresh and rather than go to the market I used dried parsley.)
• 1 Tablespoon Salt (Optional and I did not use)
• Bottled Lemon Juice
• Love

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In a food processor chop onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, carrots, celery, and parsley.

Quatertomatoes

Wash tomatoes.  Remove core and blossom ends.  Cut into quarters.  Combine tomatoes and vegetables in large saucepot and simmer 20 minutes.

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Juice tomatoes in food processor or food mill.

Straintomatoes

Strain juice to remove seeds and peels.

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Add salt if desired.  Add love.  Heat juice 5 minutes at 190 degrees.  Do not boil.

Lemonjuice

Add one tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar, two tablespoons to each quart jar.

Ladlejuice

Ladle hot juice into hot jars.

Headspace

Leave 1/4 inch headspace.

Twopiececaps

Wipe rim with soft damp cloth and adjust two piece caps.

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Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling water bath canner.

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Remove from canner and place on cardboard or a towel.  Let rest for 12 to 24 hours.

Enjoy your hot and spicy tomato garden juice year round.  Mix in drinks, chili, or use in various other recipes.

City Girl