We don't even get started with a 5-gal bucket, not worth it. We make tomato juice (very thick) for chili, try to get about 50-60 qts, spaghetti sauce (another 30-40 pints&half), some diced tomatoes with onions/peppers (misc recipes, about 50 1/2 pints). We don't use alot of tomatoes, but try to have enough canned of any 1 crop to last 2 years. We do this because we never know if the next year's crop will be a success or not. Have done this for years, so every other year or so, we'll do tomatoes, another year-beans, another year-corn. We do peas and beets whenever we can get a good crop or deal. I raised 3 boys back in the 70-80s and kept my food budget down to about $20-30 per week, with help from the garden. Now we live on less than $1200 per month for EVERYTHING.

Squeezo is a very old name for the newer model Villaware or Roma food strainer. These use a very good design that incorpoates a spiral auger that pushes the juices through a fine holed screens and removes all traces of seeds and skins. No prepping needed, unless the tomatoes are really big, where you simply cut them in quarters. Its similar to a meat grinder, but its for most any food that has skins and/or seeds. I use it for red raspberry jam without seeds. The use of a finer hold berry screen is what gives me just the juices and soft pulp, and any seeds are pushed out the end of the conical sieves. They also make a shorter spiral for large grape seeds and a pumpkin screen or even a 3/16 inch hole salsa screen. These are extra attachments. If you were dong a LOT of tomatoes or othr things, also suggest the motor unit. I have one here and 'crank' out a bushel in about 10 minutes. The newer ones have a twist on strainer screen, while teholder models have two big wingnuts on each side of the screens. Of allthe models and improvements, the nerwer ones work better, leak less and are very easy to work. Here is a link that might be useful: Food strainer

Well, you have both convinced me to not waste the pulp. Some of it is so thick, and almost chunky, that it would ruin the pleasure of the drinking experience. I'll save (freeze) and stockpile a good bit and then turn it into chile...that's sure easy enough. Paul, what would I need to do to make it tomato soup? Add some water, milk, or a combination of the two and seasonings of my choice? Sue

Yes, you can use a boiling water bath to process tomato juice. But remember, tomatoes are borderline for being acid enough for canning in a boiling water bath due to low-acid varieties of tomatoes being grown these days, so you MUST add the proper amount of bottled lemon juice or citric acid to the tomato juice to assure the juice is acid enough. Just follow the recipe in the Ball Blue Book (use a recent copy) , or the recipes located at the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Do NOT use an old recipes that does NOT have the added acid. You can also freeze tomato juice (recipe in the Ball Blue Book), as an option, and you can also can tomato juice blends (similar to V-8) by mixing tomatoes, carrots, celery, green pepper, onion, parsley, salt and bottled lemon juice (not more than 3-cups of other vegetables to the 22-pounds of tomatoes). Do you already have the canning equipment and jars? Do you grow your own tomatoes in amounts large enough to fill a canner? It takes approximately 22-pounds of tomatoes to make 7-quarts of juice. If you have to invest in equipment or purchase the tomatoes, along with the utilities it will take to process the tomato juice and the additional electricity to cool the hot house associated with canning if you use air conditioning, then it may actually cost you more for the juice than buying commercial. In order to get the most nutrition possible out of the food you can, the fresh-picked food needs to be canned within 24-hours of harvest. Do you have enough fresh produce to meet the needs and fill a canner (22-pounds), because canning less than a canner full is wasted money.