Tomato juice

Tomato Juice from France by Alain Milliat

Alain Milliat's tomato juice is aromatic, well-rounded, and elegant, with an intense aroma of sun-ripened tomatoes from southern France. Even if it sounds surprising, this juice was the most popular Alain Milliat juice in 2022 – ranking number 1 in the annual charts for this blend of 3 tomato varieties: "liquid and fleshy, slightly acidic and incredibly fresh, our Red Tomato Juice is unlike any other," enthuses the Frenchman.

It was not easy for Alain Milliat to choose the three varieties that would define the aroma of his tomato juice from over 100 tomato types, but he succeeded. This includes the old Cornue des Andes variety, "Andean horn," which was originally cultivated by farmers in the Peruvian Andes. This pointed variety contains little juice and few seeds, but its taste is extremely delicate, fruity-sweet, and balanced.

This light red tomato juice is lightly salted, has a pleasant consistency, and a good balance between fruitiness and acidity. Alain Milliat's tomato juice quickly becomes a Bloody Mary with black pepper and a celery stick, plus a shot of vodka, but the vegetable juice is also used in the kitchen, for stewing vegetables or meat, or as a highlight in salad dressings.

Tomato Juice – Juice or Nectar?

Nectar, what a promising word, which in botany refers to the liquid from flower calyxes, and in Greek mythology, the drink of the gods that bestows eternal youth and immortality. The European Fruit Juice Regulation is less euphoric. It distinguishes between juice and nectar and allows up to 20% of the final product in nectar to consist of sugar, and the fruit content, which can be fruit juice or fruit pulp, must be at least 25% depending on the fruit type, thus classifying juice as higher quality than nectar.

But what does Alain Milliat care about the Fruit Juice Regulation? More good ingredients than the minimum requirement are not forbidden after all. His nectars therefore consist of 40-50% fruit content.

Alain Milliat – The Passionate One

Alain Milliat, grandson and son of a farmer, and a fruit farmer himself, took over the family business in Orliénas near Lyon in 1983. For 15 years, he respectfully tended the land entrusted to him and grew the finest fruit, especially a highly coveted cherry variety. In 1997, Maison Alain Milliat launched the project to produce high-quality juices for gourmets. Alain sent the first six juices and nectars to 60 restaurants from the Relais & Châteaux guide and eagerly awaited the sommeliers' reactions to his creations. And they were enthusiastic. This great idea allows him to adapt the textures, sugar-acid balances, and colors of his juices to the needs of the restaurants. Driven by his success with gourmet restaurants, with whom he still works today, the passionate producer continues to develop new juices and nectars from special, hand-picked fruits, offering unique taste experiences. Today, Alain Milliat buys his fruits from all over France and beyond, always at their optimal ripeness.