Eclectic... The place where we keep things that interest us...

Anybody remember Snap-E-Tom?

It was that delicious mix of tomato juice and Ortega chilis that was spicy and nutritious. As fate would have it, a combination of corporate wisdom, marketing genius, and cost cutting reduced the once venerable breakfast drink to just another crappy tomato juice.

Why you say?

Through a series of acquisitions, Del Monte now owns the Snap-E-Tom brand, originally produced by Ortega, of Ventura California. Poor nationwide sales has sidelined the drink. No wonder. The dilution has produced a drink nowhere near the original.
Corporate decided that in order to market to a wider audience, the drink should not be spicy. People like bland and flavorless, right?
Ortega chilis are too expensive. To increase profits, generic chilis can be used.

Since our engineers are powered by coffee, beer, chili cheese Fritos and spicy drinks, we figured we would set them on creating a decent substitute for the original Snap-E-Tom drink. What they came up with is not perfect, but pretty darn good.

So here is how they do it (ingredients):

1) 64 ounces of decent tomato juice. They like Langers. Simple and pure.

2) 1 4 ounce container of Ortega green chilis, well drained.

3) 1 large Jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and diced.

4) 2 medium Habanero peppers, cored, seeded, and diced.

5) 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

6) 2 cups water.

Directions:

1) Place two cups of the tomato juice in a blender.

2) Add the salt, Ortega chilis, diced Jalapeno, and Habanero peppers.

3) Puree until smooth.

4) Place all ingredients and remaining tomato juice in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes. Add two cups of water.

5) Reduce heat and simmer on low for two hours, stirring occasionally.

6) Cool juice and place in a container in the refrigerator. Let sit for 24 hours.

7) Shake, pour, and enjoy.

Notes:

1) Adjust the Habanero as desired. 1 pepper approximates the original, two is for those who like it hot.

2) They found that boiling, and then simmering removes most of the "green" or "rawness" of the peppers.

3) The cooling period of 24 hours removes the remainder if the "green" from the mix.

4) If you use tomato juice that has salt added, simply reduce the salt in the recipe. It mixes well at any time in the process, so you can begin with none and work your way up. Salt has a bad rap, but it really helps make the flavors pop.

Eclectic... The place where we keep things that interest us...

Anybody remember Snap-E-Tom?

It was that delicious mix of tomato juice and Ortega chilis that was spicy and nutritious. As fate would have it, a combination of corporate wisdom, marketing genius, and cost cutting reduced the once venerable breakfast drink to just another crappy tomato juice.

​

​

Why you say?

Through a series of acquisitions, Del Monte now owns the Snap-E-Tom brand, originally produced by Ortega, of Ventura California. Poor nationwide sales has sidelined the drink. No wonder. The dilution has produced a drink nowhere near the original.

Corporate decided that in order to market to a wider audience, the drink should not be spicy. People like bland and flavorless, right?

Ortega chilis are too expensive. To increase profits, generic chilis can be used.

​

​

Since our engineers are powered by coffee, beer, chili cheese Fritos and spicy drinks, we figured we would set them on creating a decent substitute for the original Snap-E-Tom drink. What they came up with is not perfect, but pretty darn good.

​

So here is how they do it (ingredients):

1) 64 ounces of decent tomato juice. They like Langers. Simple and pure.

2) 1 4 ounce container of Ortega green chilis, well drained.

3) 1 large Jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and diced.

4) 2 medium Habanero peppers, cored, seeded, and diced.

5) 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

6) 2 cups water.

​

Directions:

1) Place two cups of the tomato juice in a blender.

2) Add the salt, Ortega chilis, diced Jalapeno, and Habanero peppers.

3) Puree until smooth.

4) Place all ingredients and remaining tomato juice in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes. Add two cups of water.

5) Reduce heat and simmer on low for two hours, stirring occasionally.

6) Cool juice and place in a container in the refrigerator. Let sit for 24 hours.

7) Shake, pour, and enjoy.

​

Notes:

1) Adjust the Habanero as desired. 1 pepper approximates the original, two is for those who like it hot.

2) They found that boiling, and then simmering removes most of the "green" or "rawness" of the peppers.

3) The cooling period of 24 hours removes the remainder if the "green" from the mix.

4) If you use tomato juice that has salt added, simply reduce the salt in the recipe. It mixes well at any time in the process, so you can begin with none and work your way up. Salt has a bad rap, but it really helps make the flavors pop.

​

​