by Jess Catherine, Assistant Merchandiser
Tomato juice, carrot juice, beet juice, red bell pepper juice… What is in your favorite Bloody Mary Tonic? I’m fine with adding the booze or clam juice depending on the festivities, but there are also health benefits in this well-known beverage. And oftentimes, the simplicity of a simple stalk of celery can balance this cocktail perfectly. The benefits of fresh ingredients give these tonics a powerful kick in flavor and goodness. And if you’re going to blend up a Bloody Mary, why not sneak in some omega-3 fatty acids to boost the nutrients?
The Secret Ingredient: Kale
This leafy green is an excellent natural source of omega-3 fatty acids, which aids memory and protects your heart and joints. This is a simple kale and tomato beverage that is chock-full of vitamins.
SIMPLE VEGETABLE MIXER
1 Tbs. kale (or to taste)
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 oz. vodka
4 oz. tomato juice
1 celery stalk for garnish
Directions: Purée kale using a blender or food processor, then grate ginger into a bowl.
Combine puréed kale, ginger, ground pepper and turmeric in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add vodka and tomato juice, and shake.
Strain over glass filled with ice. Garnish with celery.
Serving size: 1 cocktail
Tomato Facts
One cup of tomato juice contains only 41 calories. It is filled with electrolytes, potassium, sodium, vitamin C, and lycopene. Lycopene is a very high antioxidant and helps combat liver toxins. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and stimulates brain growth. Having anti-inflammatory properties, it can help prevent a lot of diseases and damage to your cells. In addition to having anti-inflammatory properties, this antioxidant protects your skin from UV rays. It promotes heart-health, bone-health, and lower cholesterol. The fiber from celery and tomato pulp are even great for a full body cleanse.
They have so many nutritious qualities and depending on the time of year, they will have a wide variation of flavor. I have put together a quick how-to on choosing the best tomatoes for juicing or the best ones when creating your own bloody mary mix.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and trying out all these different tomatoes.
What to Look For
If you are going to buy tomatoes for juicers, you should certainly look into juicy and flavorful tomato varieties.
As a rule, larger tomatoes have more juice and seeds and less pulp. Small tomatoes, on the other hand, have more pulp.
But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look into the smaller varieties. These can have lots of juice too.
The difference is that when it comes to smaller varieties, the juice is in the pulp. The pulp of smaller tomatoes is also good for improving the consistency of the juice.
If you try making tomato juice using different tomato varieties, you will see that the juice made from tomatoes with lots of pulp doesn’t separate as much.
There are two things you should do for the perfect homemade tomato juice.
Choose Juicy Tomatoes
No matter what variety of tomatoes you have decided to use for making tomato juice, it is important to choose the juicy ones.
The juiciest tomatoes are the ones that are in season at the moment. In-season tomatoes are naturally ripened and have a well-developed flavor.
Additionally, you should be able to tell if the tomatoes are juicy or not by feeling their weight. If a tomato feels heavy for its size, it probably has a lot of juice which makes it perfect for juicers.
Use a Combination of Different Varieties
If you want to make homemade tomato juice that is full of flavor, we recommend using a few different varieties. The more juicy tomato varieties you use the more delicious your healthy drink will come out.
So, if you are heading to the market intending to buy tomatoes for juicers, pick a few different varieties.
Whether you pick large tomatoes with lots of juice and seeds or smaller tomatoes that have more pulp, remember that to end up with a quart of tomato juice you will need 3 pounds of tomatoes.
8 Best Tomatoes For Juicers
There are numerous tomato varieties available at farmers’ markets and supermarkets. But not all of them are suitable for juicing. Here are the nine best tomatoes for juicers:
1. Plum Tomatoes: Plum tomatoes are a popular tomato variety used for canning and making sauces. But as these tomatoes have more pulp than they have juice and seeds, they produce delicious tomato juice with body. These oblong tomatoes have a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. There are different varieties of plum tomatoes. One of the most widespread plum tomato variety is Roma.
2. Beefsteak Tomatoes: Beefsteak tomatoes are called so because of their large size and meaty texture. This is the tomato variety to go for if you want to drink tomato juice with a classic tomato flavor, without added sweetness or fruity notes. We should note, however, that certain beefsteak tomato varieties can be quite sweet. The color of these tomatoes ranges from pink to bright red.
3. Kumato Tomatoes: Kumato tomatoes are for those who like intense tomato flavor. This patented cultivar tomato variety also looks quite different from other tomato varieties due to its color.The color of Kumato tomatoes ranges from green to red and brown. You may even come across purple-looking Kumato tomatoes. Kumato tomatoes can be mild in flavor or they can be rather sweet thanks to the high fructose content.
4. Early Girl: Early Girl tomatoes, as the name suggests, produce early and remain in season comparatively long. These are medium-sized tomatoes with a bright color and a sweet concentrated favor.This means that juicing Early Girl tomatoes will produce juice that not only tastes good but also looks appetizing. Early Girl tomatoes that get some hot days tend to taste sweeter as the hot weather sets the sugar in them. Early Girl tomatoes are rather meaty. Thus, juice made from this tomato variety tends to not separate as quickly.
5. Campari: Campari tomatoes are known as one of the juiciest tomato varieties. These tomatoes are sweet thanks to their high sugar level. The level of acidity, on the other hand, is low. The color is deep red which is always good for tomatoes for juicing as the result is a good-looking cup of healthy juice. Appearance-wise, these tomatoes are slightly bigger compared to cherry tomatoes and rounder than plum tomatoes.
6. Brandywine: Brandywine tomatoes are a well-known heirloom tomato variety. These tomatoes are quite large which makes them good for juicing and a range of other cooking tasks. The flavor is rich and deep. As for the texture, Brandywine tomatoes have the right amount of both pulp and juice. Thus, they make tomato juice of the perfect consistency.
7. Amos Coli: Amos Coli tomatoes are quite large and heavy. The texture of these tomatoes is dense and meaty while the flavor is balanced. This makes Amos Coli tomatoes good for juicers. Amos Coli tomatoes bloom later than some other tomato varieties, but once they do, they will continue to appear all throughout the season, providing you with fresh tomato juice for a few months.
8. Aunt Ruby’s German Green: As you can guess by the name, this is a green tomato variety. Aunt Ruby’s German Green tomatoes retain their green color even when they are fully ripe. These tomatoes have a sweet flavor profile with fruity notes.
You can use Aunt Ruby’s German Green tomatoes on their own to make juice or add a few of them to the blend for an elaborate flavor.
How to Make Tomato Juice Using a Juicer?
If you have purchased a juicer and want to make homemade tomato juice, here are a few simple steps that result in tomato juice full of flavor and vitamins.
Pick your preferred tomato variety and wash the tomatoes to prepare for juicing.
Cut the tomatoes and remove the seeds. This step is optional. Do it only if you want tomato juice with a thicker consistency and more body.
Cut the tomatoes into pieces small enough to fit into the feeding tube of your juicer.
Prepare a few celery stalks. This step is optional too. But we recommend you do as a few celery stalks in the juice will add a savory flavor to it. To prep the stalks, wash them and remove the leaves.
Turn on the juicer and start placing the tomatoes and the celery stalks into the feeding tube.
Let the juice collect in your preferred jar or cup.
To take your homemade tomato juice to the next level add a few drops of tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Skip this step if you are drinking tomato juice for its health benefits.