Tomato-Vegetable Juice Blend

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Wash 7 quart jars, bands, and new lids in hot soapy water and keep the jars hot until ready to fill.
2. 2Simmer the new lids in hot water per the manufacturer's instructions.
3. 3Wash the tomatoes, score an X on the bottom, blanch 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water, cool in ice water, slip off the skins, cut out the cores, and quarter the tomatoes; wash and finely chop the celery, carrot, onion, and greens.
4. 4Simmer the quartered tomatoes with the celery, carrot, onion, and greens in a large pot, crushing the tomatoes as they heat, for 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are very tender, keeping the vegetable additions at or below the total amount listed here so tomato juice remains the dominant, acid-bearing ingredient.
5. 5Run the mixture through a food mill or fine sieve to remove skins, seeds, and any fibrous pieces, producing a smooth vegetable-flecked juice, then return it to the pot and bring back to a full boil.
6. 6Add the required acid directly to each hot, empty jar before filling: 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid per quart jar (half that per pint), plus salt if using.
7. 7Fill the jars with the hot juice blend, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.
8. 8Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic tool, wipe the rims clean, center the lids, and screw the bands on fingertip tight.
9. 9Process in a boiling-water canner, jars covered by 1 to 2 inches of water, timing from a full rolling boil: 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts at 0-1,000 ft, adding 5 minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 minutes at 3,001-6,000 ft, 15 minutes at 6,001-8,000 ft, or 20 minutes above 8,000 ft.
10. 10Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then move the jars with a jar lifter to a towel-lined counter and let cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
11. 11Press each lid to confirm sealing, label with contents, acid added, and date, and refrigerate any jar that did not seal.
12. 12Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place up to about 1 year; refrigerate after opening and use within about a week.
13. 13The added vegetables must stay within the amounts listed so tomatoes remain the majority ingredient, and the full bottled lemon juice or citric acid amount is required regardless of how much vegetable juice is blended in.