Every year, without fail, I plant tomatoes. Cherry, Roma, Big Boy, Brandywine, Early Girl, Celebrity… I’ll attribute this to Mom. For years, she has grown a lush garden overflowing with produce, resulting in a stocked pantry of homegrown tomatoes, peaches, pears and whatnot, enjoyed well into the winter months. I tend to over plant the snacking tomato varieties like Grape and Cherry, which results in fewer sandwich and canning-sized tomatoes. This year, however, I didn’t plant any scrumptious snackers. Woohoo! More for The Hubby’s simple mayo, white bread and tomato sandwiches. And Garden Fresh Bloody Mary Mix!
The Bloody Mary drink itself dates back to the 1920’s. Harry’s Bar in Paris takes credit for creating this vodka-based libation. American actor and singer George Jessel claimed the Bloody Mary was named for his friend Mary Geraghty. The Hubby has sampled many iterations of this classic cocktail across the country, with the highest self-rated ones at BB’s Stage Door Canteen inside the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA and at The Breakfast Club, Too in Key West, FL.
Home-canned Bloody Mary Mix is relatively easy to make. The hardest part is just waiting for water to boil. Have you ever heard the saying “a watched pot never boils”? This proverb dates back to the 1700’s and one of our nation’s founding fathers…Benjamin Franklin. Ironically, Franklin never put this kitchen pot-based proverb in his publication Poor Richard’s Almanack.
To get started on making homemade Blood Mary Mix, you start with fresh tomatoes. This year, I have a abundance of Celebrity tomatoes, but you can use any fleshy tomato type. Start by cutting the tomato cores out and quartering them. Place approximately 10 pounds of tomatoes into a large stockpot and cover with about 6 cups of water. Cook down until the flesh is tender and the tomato skins are coming off in papery pieces. Don’t drain the water off because you’ll need this tasty juice for your mix.
After cooking, strain the cooked tomatoes into a food mill to extract the tomato puree away from the seeds and skins. There’s a wide variety of food mills out there, but I find the cheaper ones work best. If you like applesauce, a food mill does this too.
The tomato puree goes back into the cooked juices, along with lemon juice (fresh or bottled), celery seed, hot sauce (Frank’s or Tabasco), Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, and grated horseradish. Please do not use prepared horseradish sauce. You’ll want to use grated horseradish in vinegar. Boar’s Head brand in the deli section of your favorite grocery store is the best to use. (Unless you’re brave enough to make your own like we do here.)
Bring everything up to about 190 degrees on the stovetop before ladling into hot, clean quart jars. Leave about 1/4-inch “headroom” or empty space. Each jar top should also be wiped with a clean towel. Seal up with hot two-part lids and rings, and process in a hot-water canner for 45 minutes. Be sure the quart jars are completely covered with water. Take the jars out of the water, and place them upside down on a towel to cool and seal. You’ll hear a distinct “pop” when the jar lids seal. Don’t forget to write the bottling date and contents on the lids with a sharpie.
Drink it as is, or adult it up by adding 1 to 2 ounces of vodka or tequila. Be sure to shake the mix before using it. Fill a pint glass with crushed ice and your favorite spirit. Top with Garden Fresh Bloody Mary Mix, stir and garnish as you see fit–olives, lemon wedges, celery sticks, pickled okra, bacon strips… Enjoy responsibly!
PrintGarden Fresh Bloody Mary Mix
Fresh out of the garden, this home-canned classic Bloody Mary mix is perfectly balanced with flavors of sun-ripened tomatoes, Worcestershire, lemon, celery seed, and a blend of three fiery spices! Drink it as is, or perk it up with 1 to 2 ounces of your favorite vodka or tequila.
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: About 1 Hour (Includes Processing Time)
- Total Time: About 1-1/2 Hours
- Yield: 5 Quarts Mix + Extra for a Cocktail 1x
Ingredients
10 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
6 cups water
2 tbsp. celery seed
2–1/4 cups lemon juice
9 tbsp. grated horseradish root (*Not horseradish sauce.)
6 tbsp. hot sauce (We use Frank’s Hot Sauce, but Tabasco is traditional.)
4 tbsp. + 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. salt (kosher, table or sea)
2 tsp. ground black pepper
**1 to 2 ounces of your favorite vodka or tequila brand
Instructions
Fill hot water canner with hot water. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Wash 5 to 6 quart jars in hot, soapy water, rinse and let dry. (You can use regular or wide mouth jars.) Place 6 unused canning jar lids and rings in a medium-sized sauce pan. Cover with warm water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
In a large stockpot, combine cored and quartered tomatoes with water. Bring to a boil. Cook until the tomatoes are tender and peels are coming off, about 20 minutes.*
Ladle cooked tomatoes into a food mill placed over a large bowl. Remove spent seeds and peels from food mill. Continue until all cooked tomatoes have been run through the food mill. Strain remaining juice and water in the stock pot to remove any additional seeds and peels. Return all tomato sauce and juices to stock pot. You should have about 17-18 cups of tomato juice.
Stir in celery seed, lemon juice, grated horseradish root, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper. Return stock pot to medium-high heat. Cook until mix reaches 190 degrees F.
Remove from heat. Ladle into clean, warm quart jars. Leave about 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust 2-part caps. Hand tighten and place into boiling water canner. Process quart jars for 45 minutes. Remove from water and let cool upside down on a towel. Jars will be sealed when lids begin to make a popping sound. Label with contents and date.
**To make one cocktail, fill a pint glass with crushed ice. Pour in 1 to 2 ounces of vodka or tequila. Top glass with Garden Fresh Bloody Mary Mix. (Be sure to shake the jar of mix.) Garnish glass with celery sticks, lemon wedges, cooked bacon strips, olives, etc.
Notes
*Tomatoes can be individually frozen on a cookie sheet to be used at a later time. If using frozen tomatoes, bring tomatoes to room temperature before cooking.
IMNPB
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