Looking for more ways to get vegetables? Perhaps boost your electrolytes after an active day outside in the sun?
Clamato juice is a briny drink which blends clam broth and tomato juice – hence its name:
clam + tomato = clamato
By nature, clamato (because of the clam juice) is not going to be sodium friendly. However, this version with its tomatoes, celery, and carrots provides plenty of fibers, potassium, and other minerals to help balance.
Authentic clamato is just two ingredients: Originally cold tomato juice and red abalone broth.
Invented in Baja, California, as the story goes a patron of the Acueducto bar of hotel Lucerne in Mexicali mixed ice cold tomato juice with the broth of cooked red abalone for the briny salinity of the broth. The red abalone molusk was a popular bar snack. As it happened, the price of the red abalone sea snails went up significantly and clam juice began to be used as a substitute. The Clamato name stuck and the drink’s fame spread north, far, and wide.
In 1935 a “clam and tomato juice in combination” product was commercially produced in New York. Later on in 1940 an Atlantic City restaurateur was granted a trade mark for canned their proprietary seasoned Clamato juice. In 1957 McCormick & Company, Inc. acquired the trademark and, finally, Mott’s concocted their own version of Clamato juice and registered their trade mark. Mott’s commercially sold Clamato juice has dominated the market since, but, unfortunately, is loaded with corn syrup, artificial coloring, MSG and preservatives.
Easily make your own Clamato and avoid the food additives
Half the cost of commercial, this recipe not only tastes amazing, you get a full day’s worth of veggie servings in just 3 minutes start to finish. Some like it served with peel-and-eat shrimp for a fast meal. Loaded with vitamins, minerals, high in potassium and fiber all from easy to find ingredients.
3-4 servings (drink throughout the day)
Ingredients
1½ pounds tomatoes, sliced
⅓ onion, sliced
1 cup prepped and cleaned carrot slices
2 4-inch ribs celery, in 1-inch chunks
½ beet, peeled (mostly for color)
¼ green bell pepper (seeding is optional, most people do)
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ Tablespoon Cholula hot sauce (others work but may be more or less spicy)
Juice of 1 lemon (approximately ¼ cup)
2 cups clam juice (more as needed. Note: and 8 oz. bottle is 1 cup and this brand has less added salt than others)
Lemon wedges and celery for garnish
Preparation
- Place all ingredients in a Vitamix or other sturdy blender
- Blend on high 2 minutes
- Taste and adjust seasoning or texture—some people prefer a more “tomatoey” juice, others like to thin it more with additional clam juice.
How simple is that??
Copyright © 2020 Marie Sternquist. All Rights Reserved
