Question
What is the best way for storing tomato juice – at what temperature and for how long could we store it without it losing quality?
We want to test juice from our fresh market tomatoes for such things as brix, acid, sugars, and ascorbic acid. We don’t have time to run these tests immediately after we extract the juice. (K.J.)
Answer
We have procedures that we use for our microwaved tomato juice analysis on my website - direct link below. We are evaluating processing varieties, and there we can use a microwave process that mimics a hot break and inactivates enzymes and kills microorganisms. In your case with fresh market tomatoes I would suggest freezing the samples in small vials (Eppendorf tubes or whatever volume you need for each specific test) and analyzing them later. If you freeze at -20°F you can probably store them 3-4 weeks without too much ascorbic acid loss. The factors you are interested in are not otherwise affected by freezing. Hope this helps!
—Diane Barrett