One of the best ways to preserve the fresh flavors of the garden is by making tomato juice using tomatoes you grow yourself. But one thing is for sure, not all tomatoes are perfect for the job – which is exactly why knowing what varieties are best can help you make the most delicious juice around!
Tomato juice is one of the easiest home vegetable products to preserve and one of the most useful to have on hand in your pantry. Not only is it a healthy and delicious drink by itself, but tomato juice is also the foundation for so many incredible recipes.
Making tomato juice also happens to be one of the best ways to use up a large harvest of tomatoes at one time. But the key to making outstanding tomato juice is combining a selection of the right tomato varieties that provide a sweet yet tangy tomato flavor that can exceed even the best of any store-bought varieties.
Using just one or two tomato varieties will leave the juice flavor flat and lacking depth. In addition, some varieties just don’t work well for juicing. A great example of this is with most paste varieties of tomatoes – which are better left for thicker homemade tomato products like salsas and pasta sauces, not rich and smooth juice.
So whether you want to make delicious tomato juice to drink – or to add to soups, casseroles, roasts – or to make the perfect Bloody Mary, here is a look at five of the best tomatoes to grow to make the most flavorful homemade tomato juice ever!
The 5 Best Tomatoes To Grow For Making Tomato Juice
Campari
Campari is one of the sweetest and most flavorful tomatoes on the market these days. It also happens to be the perfect base for making homemade tomato juice. Campari tomatoes have a high sugar content that is balanced perfectly with a bit of acid.
They are a hybrid variety that is larger than a typical cherry tomato but smaller than plum tomatoes. The globe-shaped tomatoes feature a deep red color, contain little pulp, and are loaded with juice.
Campari tomatoes have become one of the more popular varieties and are now readily available in grocery stores and supermarkets. You can usually find them sold in groups of 5 or 6 still attached to the vine, a tactic that helps to preserve their rich flavor and slow down the ripening process.
But there is no need to buy these tomatoes when you see how easy they are to grow at home. They grow easily from seed, and produce a big harvest for lots of juice! Product Link: Campari Tomato Seeds
Cherokee Purple – 5 Best Tomatoes To Grow To Make Juice
Known for its deep burgundy skin with green shoulders, the Cherokee Purple is another great addition to grow when the goal is making flavorful tomato juice. Once sliced, the beauty of this 13-ounce average beefsteak variety continues with its deep red and purple flesh.
But it’s not just the unique appearance of Cherokee Purple that makes it a good fit for turning into juice. This tomato has dense flesh while still having plenty of juice. And is the juice ever incredibly full of flavor!
Despite being a sweeter tomato variety, this heirloom has a deeply rich and complex taste. One that is a key ingredient for creating a flavorful juice. Product Link: Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato Seeds
Tiger Blush – 5 Best Tomatoes To Grow To Make Juice
The Tiger Blush Artisan tomato combines beautiful colors and stripes with an amazingly sweet flavor. The overly sweet tomatoes even feature hints of tropical flavors that make it a great addition for rounding out tomato juice – or for snacking fresh right from the garden!
Tiger Blush features yellow skin with a slight pinkish blush that makes it look like it has been kissed by the sun. The fruit is usually around 2 to 2.5 inches long and slightly cylindrical shaped.
As an indeterminate tomato variety, the Tiger Blush is a big producer that pushes out tons of fruit until the first frost. Even with its sugary sweetness, there’s no shortness of fruit growing along its vigorous vines. Product Link: Park Seeds Organic Artisan Blush Tomatoes
Brandywine
Brandywine heirloom tomatoes are the best combination of large, beefsteak-like tomatoes with meaty flesh but still loads of flavorful juice. The flavor is earthy and sweet but with a nice balance of acidity.
You can find Brandywine tomatoes most often in shades of red – however, you can also find varieties in pink, yellow, and even black. The darker the variety, the more tangy the flavor.
The fruit from these indeterminate plants will be anywhere from 12 to 16 ounces up to over two pounds. While Brandywine varieties are meatier, they have few seeds – and their juice is full of intense flavor. Product Link: Park Seed Brandywine Tomato Seeds
Black Cherry
To finish off the list of the best tomatoes to grow for incredible juice, you can’t leave off the Black Cherry tomato. You might be surprised to see a cherry tomato on the list due to their smaller nature – but even though the individual tomatoes might be small, they are heavy on juice!
Not only that, but these plants are big producers. The indeterminate vines grow large and push out loads of small, flavorful cherry tomatoes. It won’t take long until you have a huge harvest of cherry tomatoes that you can use to turn into delicious juice.
The deep brown and purple colored cherry tomatoes have a rich, almost smoky flavor that helps to round out the flavor profile of the other tomatoes on our list. Whether you grow them in traditional garden spaces or in raised beds or containers, you won’t be disappointed with Black Cherry tomatoes. Product Link: Black Cherry Tomato Seeds
Now that you know what to grow – here is a look at one of our favorite tomato juice recipes of all!
Tomato Juice Recipe – 5 Best Tomatoes To Grow To Make Juice
For this batch, you will need around 20 to 25 pounds of tomatoes. To begin, wash all of your tomatoes. Cut up larger tomatoes into 1-inch-sized pieces to help speed up the cooking process.
Place your tomato varieties (we love the 5 above!) into a 6 to 8-quart non-reactive stockpot. Cook the tomatoes on medium-low heat, stirring frequently. There is no need to add any extra water or other liquid. As the tomatoes start to heat up, they will begin to release their juices.
Allow the mixture to come to a boil and simmer, being sure to stir every 5 minutes or so. You can add more tomatoes as they start to cook down and reduce in volume.
Once the tomatoes are soft and pliable, run the mixture through a tomato strainer or food mill. This helps to remove the skins and seeds. Return the liquid back to the pot and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Product Link: Ergonomic Food Mill
Process the tomato juice in a canner, allow the liquid to cool and freeze, or enjoy it right away. For more in-depth instructions on making, storing, and processing tomato juice, see The Secrets To Making Tomato Juice
Here’s to growing the right kind of tomatoes to make a flavorful tomato juice that you can enjoy all year long!
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