If you don’t have a juicer, you can also use a blender to make juice. Once all the fruit and vegetables have been pureed, you can press the smoothie through cheesecloth to extract the juice. You can either work from a recipe to make your juice, or you can improvise with some of your favorite fruits and veggies. It’s important to work with fresh produce, because frozen fruits and vegetables won’t juice properly.
When your produce is clean, pat it all dry with a clean towel.
Remove thick skins from fruits like pineapple, mango, papaya, citrus fruits, and melons. Remove the pits from fruits like cherries, peaches, nectarines, mangos, and plums. Remove shells from any nuts and seeds that you want to juice.
For large fruits and vegetables, chop them into two inch (five cm) cubes. This includes things like cabbage, pineapple, and watermelon. Medium fruits and vegetables, like apples, tomatoes, and beets, should be cut into quarters. Small and skinny produce like carrots, celery, asparagus, radishes, berries, and kiwis can be juiced whole.
Fit the juicing bowl into the center of the juicer. This will catch the produce and separate the juice and pulp. Insert the auger into the juicing screen and the screen into the holder. Place the assembled component inside the juicing basket. Place the lid on the juicer, and position a pitcher or cup beside the spout to catch the juice. [3] X Research source
When you’ve finished with your first ingredient, move on to the next. As you juice, make sure you adjust the speed setting depending on the type of produce you’re juicing. Many juicers have different settings for hard, medium, and soft produce.
When you’ve blended all the ingredients and there are no large chunks left, pour the smoothie into a cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer. Position the cheesecloth over a bowl or cup and squeeze the cheesecloth to separate the pulp from the juice.
Serve the juice as is, or chill it for a few hours before serving. You can also serve the juice fresh on ice. Refrigerate any unused portions and consume within a couple days.
Good vegetables for juicing include carrots, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, spinach, kale, broccoli, beets, cabbage, sweet potatoes, radishes, and peppers. [4] X Research source Many vegetables make tasty juices, even if you don’t like eating those vegetables whole. For slightly sweeter juices, add one or two fruits to your vegetable juices. Fruits like pears and apples will add sweetness without adding a lot of fruit flavor.
Fruits like kiwis, strawberries, pomegranates, mangoes, papayas, apricots, plums, and peaches are great juicing candidates. Bananas, avocados, and other creamy fruits tend to clog juicers. [5] X Research source If you want to juice these types of produce, use the a blender to puree the fruit and then strain out the juice.
Consider adding a fresh flavor to your juice by incorporating fresh mint, lemon balm, rosemary, basil, dill, or other herbs. Wheatgrass is popular with many juice enthusiasts. Be careful with this, though, because the straw-like texture of wheatgrass clogs many conventional juicing machines. You can also juice shelled cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, and many other seeds and nuts. When you juice nuts and seeds, it’s important to soak them overnight to ensure you can extract as much from the meat as possible. [6] X Research source
Local farmers markets are a great place to get fruits and vegetables for juicing. Many farms also have on-farm markets where you can buy or pick your own produce. Both conventional and organic produce may be grown with pesticides, so wash your fruits and vegetables well before juicing.
1 medium cucumber 4 medium kale leaves 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems 1 large apple 1½-inch (3. 8-cm) piece of ginger 1 lime 3 medium celery stalks
1 orange 1 mango 1-inch (2. 5-cm) disk of pineapple 4 strawberries 2 carrots
4 cups of berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries 1 beet
2 to 3 hearts of romaine 2 to 3 fresh chives 2 large tomatoes ¼ fresh jalapeño 1 red bell pepper 2 large stalks celery 1 medium carrot
¼ ripe cantaloupe 2 stalks celery ½ cucumber ¼ lemon
