[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

When I make my "juice", I use anything found on the kitchen counter where I place the harvest from the garden. It means that any tomato, whether red, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, or GWR can be added to the mix. This gives me a really wide cross-section of the tomatoes coming from the garden. It becomes a supreme blend of all the varieties I have grown in any particular year. I keep telling myself that I can taste each one of them in the juices I make each year and enjoy all winter long.

So, when I started my last batch of juice, it had a green/unripe aroma to it and the taste was about the same. Naturally, I was concerned about it. I decided to go ahead and cook it down as I normally do. I put the canning salt in and told myself that if the "green" taste did not go away, I would try to do something with it like a spaghetti sauce or possibly a salsa.

To my surprise, after cooking it down about 15%, I again tasted it and was delighted that the green taste was gone. I can only think that the reason was the cooking. So, I added a bit of sweetner and finished the canning.

Last year, I made some of my "juice" so thick that you could make peaks on it with a fork. The DW liked it because she could make sauces without having to reduce the juice so much. I liked it because one part juice and two parts beer makes a very refreshing summer (or winter) drink.

I'm only guessing, but I am leaning strongly toward the heat of cooking being the key element that mellowed out the flavor. Perhaps one of our experts can help with why the heat would help everything taste better. I can honestly say that the change in taste is real and not just a product of the salt and sugar. It has to be something that is directly connected to the heat of cooking.

I've used cheap Roma tomatoes from the store ( I've found them for 30 cents a pound). I put my strained purée in a crockpot with red wine and spices. It cooks down to about 25% of the start volume and comes out very tasty. I like to cook it way down to use as a pizza sauce. I don't cook my pasta sauce quite that far.