Tomato Casual Answers Reader’s Question: What’s Up With My Tomato Juice?
By Amelia Tucker
A reader asks (see “share your tomato questions link in sidebar) what could have happened to his tomato juice.
He made some home made tomato juice and added it to his store bought juice. The next morning the entire product was very thick.
He wondered if it was safe to drink and what could have caused the thickening.
My first thought was that yes, it was safe to drink, provided it didn’t get warmed for the evening (Bloody Mary’s-anything could have happened) and started to ferment then put back in the fridge.
You can tell this by an odor that smells somewhat yeasty.
Tomatoes are quick to mold and when juiced, even faster. Tiny bubbles will occur-without vigorous stirring or blending. It is pretty obvious when some of these things occur.
When in doubt, dump is a good motto.
As for why it thickened like that, I would bet that because part of the homemade tomato juice settled, the tomato parts were not suspended with thickeners like a store bought juice would have been and they simply settled to the bottom of the container.
When the homemade and store juice was originally mixed together, the percentage of water from the homemade version was poured out as the mixture was used while the solid bits, although fine particles, were settling the whole time.
By morning, they would have created a much thicker product.
That is my guess, anyone else want to take a stab at it?
