On Wed, 05 May 2010 09:21:32 -0700, wrote:


If you go to http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ you will
see that pureed tomatoes generally contain more nutrients than tomato
juice (indicative of the USA that they didn't have numbers for fresh
tomato juice). The puree will, as you would expect, contain more fiber.
I'd just think of it as gazpacho to which you can add cucumbers, celery,
peppers, just about anything, along with some oil oil to help adsorb the
fat soluble vitamins, and vinager to make it refreshing on a hot day. It
is a great way to use excess tomatoes.

Thank you! That's a great site, and I'd never heard of gazpacho
before. Definately added that to our 'we've got to try that' list.

Newb

Gazpacho, one of the great things that makes growing one's own
tomatoes truly worthwhile.

Ross.

In article ,
wrote:

On Tue, 04 May 2010 19:51:46 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
wrote:

First time poster, but I've been reading this newsgroup for awhile. I
enjoy an 11.5 oz can of V8 every morning and got to thinking about
making my own. Not so much to taste exactly like it, but as a way to
not let anything from the garden go to waste.

I envision using tomatoes as a base ingredient and add whatever's ripe
at the time. Is there a brand of juicer that would be preferable over
say, a blender? I'd imagine retaining the maximum amount of
nutritional value would invole a different process than just smashing
vegies into juice.

We can and freeze, but there's always some goodies left over that I
just hate to throw in the compost. I'll bet you could come up with
some interesting flavors too ; ) Have any of you tried this?

Thanks

Newb

A blender would be better than a juicer. A juicer does a poor job of
straining soft fruits. A food mill or food stainer is much better for
soft fruits like tomatoes. I find the seeds and skins can give a bitter
taste to the juice. The food strainer removes the seeds and skins.
For fresh I would use a simple food mill. A powerful blender is easier
to use and can pulverize the skins and small seeds. However I will
sacrifice the extra nutrition and fiber that the skins and seeds may
have over taste.

http://www.amazon.com/Roma-Strainer-...000I6JUMA/ref=
sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1273014905&sr=1-3

Do you have one of those, Dan? One of the three reviews on that is
less than stellar.

Newb

Yes, I have that one and I like it. The all stainless steel ones can
take the heat from canning and they cost over $200 US. Do they do a
better job - I do not know. The one I have has a plastic hopper so I let
the tomato puree cool a little bit before straining. The hopper can warp
(I'm told) if the puree is too hot (Mine is fine has not warped).
However when canning tomato juice it gets reheated again anyways during
the canning process. I pressure can all of my tomato products. I have
also used the water baths and found no difference in taste.

The Roma Strainer does a great job for juices and sauces. However the
Salsa attachment does a poor job. Best make salsa with a knife for a
chunky salsa. With the Roma strainer one can process two bushels of
tomatoes in an hour.

The MUST book to have for canning is
"Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving"
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-.../0778801314/re
f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273104373&sr=1-1

Once you taste your own homemade tomato juice you will NEVER go back!

When not canning and for a single use, I use simple food strainer like:
http://www.amazon.com/MIU-Stainless-...Mill/dp/B0000D
ZDFN/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1273105530&sr=1-3
I do not own this one but something like it.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

In article ,
whirled peas wrote:

FarmI wrote:
wrote in message
...
(snip) V8 every morning (snip) Is there a brand of juicer that would be
preferable over
say, a blender?

The juicer that gets the most ticks amongst cancer survivors is the
Champion, but it's expensive. The enemy of good juice is air and
centrifugal juicers or blenders are considered inferior to ones that don't
allow excess contact with air.


I have owned a Champion for over 15 years and like it very much. I
haven't tried it, but here is the V-8 recipe from the Owner's Manual:

--------- Cut here ---------
Champion V-8

5 to 6 carrots
1 beet
3 large tomatoes
1 bunch spinach
1/8 cabbage head
several kale leaves
1 red bell pepper
1 stalk celery
1/4 sweet onion
1/2 clove garlic
chili pepper (optional)
salt (optional)

Juice everything.
--------- Cut here ---------

Notice there is no cooking to extract the juice. Everything is raw.

The Champion also excels in removing seeds from berries for making
seedless wild blackberry jam, for example.

The "Champion" juicer does seem very interesting. For juicing HARD
fruits, juicers are needed. However those other SPIN base juicers NEVER
did a good job on SOFT fruits for making tomato based or grape based
drinks.

When I look at the "Champion V8", tomatoes are not the main ingredient
by volume. So the one who owns the Champion juicer.

How does it perform for soft fruits only, like tomatoes?
Does it have to be followed by a hard fruit to help push it through?
How many apples can it juice in an hour?

If it can do soft fruits without the hard, I may want one myself

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.