Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/09/2026
Processing details
Altitude adjustment: Boiling-water times increase across the documented altitude bands. Pressure alternatives vary by selected time, gauge, and altitude; follow one complete NCHFP table.
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Acidify every jar even when pressure canning. Do not add low-acid vegetables, thicken the juice, or mix time and pressure values from different options.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Hot
- Jar sizes
- Pint or Quart Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- Boiling-water: pints 35–50 min; quarts 40–55 min by altitude; tested pressure alternatives also available
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. This recipe follows the National Center for Home Food Preservation source. Follow its quantities and complete process exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare jars, canner, and ingredients.
- Cut and rapidly heat an initial portion of tomatoes, press out juice, reheat it to boiling, acidify each jar, and fill hot.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Boiling-water pints: 35/40/45/50 minutes; quarts: 40/45/50/55 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Use the official table for pressure options.
- Cool jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner or pressure canner, stockpot, food mill or sieve, jar lifter, and pint or quart jars.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Use sound produce and exact measured ingredients.
- Pack: Hot pack; remove trapped air and maintain 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process: Boiling-water canning or one complete NCHFP pressure-canning option; use the schedule for your altitude and canner type.
- Cool: Leave jars upright and undisturbed before checking seals.
Safety essentials
Tested NCHFP tomato recipe. Required acidification applies even when using a tested pressure-canning option.
About this recipe
Tomato Juice is a tested NCHFP home-canning recipe using hot pack and boiling-water canning or one complete nchfp pressure-canning option.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning or one complete NCHFP pressure-canning option
- Pack
- Hot pack
- Jar size
- Pints or quarts
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Read the linked authoritative source completely before processing.
Altitude and processing schedule
Boiling-water pints: 35/40/45/50 minutes; quarts: 40/45/50/55 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Use the official table for pressure options.
Tomato Juice — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 23 lb Ripe tomatoes average for 7 quarts; about 14 lb for 9 pints
- 2 tbsp per quart Bottled lemon juice or 1 tbsp per pint; required. Citric acid alternative: 1/2 tsp per quart or 1/4 tsp per pint.
- 1 tsp per quart Canning or pickling salt optional
Equipment
- 1 Boiling-water canner or pressure canner Use one complete tested NCHFP processing option.
- 7–9 Pint or quart canning jars About 7 quarts or 9 pints per canner load.
- 7–9 Two-piece canning lids Use new flat lids and prepare according to manufacturer directions.
- 1 Food mill or sieve For removing tomato skins and seeds.
Directions
- Wash tomatoes, remove stems, and trim bruised or discolored portions.
- To reduce separation, quickly quarter about 1 pound of tomatoes and heat immediately to boiling while crushing. Continue adding and crushing freshly cut tomatoes while keeping the mixture boiling. Simmer 5 minutes after all tomatoes are added. If separation is not a concern, slice or quarter all tomatoes, crush, heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
- Press the heated tomatoes through a sieve or food mill to remove skins and seeds.
- Add required bottled lemon juice or citric acid to each jar. Add salt if desired.
- Reheat juice to boiling. Fill hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Boiling-water process pints 35/40/45/50 minutes and quarts 40/45/50/55 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Pressure-canning alternatives must follow the NCHFP table exactly; acidification is still required.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Serve chilled as a beverage or use as a base for soups, sauces, braises, and cocktails.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the ingredients or process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by the authoritative source. Acidify every jar even when pressure canning. Do not add low-acid vegetables, thicken the juice, or mix time and pressure values from different options.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process if the source and current food-safety guidance permit.
How this recipe compares
Tomato juice is strained and fluid; crushed tomatoes retain pulp and pieces and use a different preparation sequence.
Troubleshooting
Rapid heating helps limit separation. Separation alone is a quality issue, but any jar showing spoilage signs must be discarded safely.
Discard any jar that is leaking, bulging, spurting, moldy, or otherwise shows signs of spoilage. Never taste food to determine safety.
Source & provenance
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Tomato Juice. Adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015.
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer, Fall
Months: July, August, September, October
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
40–80 lb of Tomatoes per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.