Juicing Ingredients
When you're looking for ingredients to juice, go for the best you can afford…
Juices and smoothies really are about freshness. Wherever possible choose fresh, local, organic produce - the highest quality and whatever is in season. As a general rule for juicing choose just ripe or slightly under-ripe fruit if you intend to keep them a day or two - you get the most juice as they pass through a juicing machine. Just ripe fruit also give the best flavor and sweetness in juices and smoothies.
Whilst you can get away with a slightly under-ripe pear in a juice, for smoothies, you have to have properly ripe fruit - for softness and intense sweet flavor when blended. The best rule is to choose fruit that you would like to eat and you can't go far wrong.
Do you have to use organic ingredients?
Of course, it doesn't HAVE to be organic. It's just that juicing takes everything that's in the fruit and on it and delivers it straight to your body within minutes. That means not only the nutrients but whatever agrochemical has been used to treat the produce whilst it was being grown. You can wash the fruit or vegetable as thoroughly as you want but some traces of chemical will have leeched into the body of the fruit. You can peel it, but if you do you will get rid of some of the best nutrients along with the peel. Seems to us that buying organic if you can is a safer way to juice.
Why local produce is good and fresh is best…
Does it have to be local? Only that local is better for the environment and avoids long-distance travel and storage. That said, you sometimes can't beat a delicious tropical mango or pineapple and unless you live in exotic places, these are unlikely to appear in your local shop.
What we are offering here are general guidelines not hard and fast rules. The great thing is to try juicing - use what's available and buy the fruit and vegetables you love the most and enjoy it experimenting.
You will probably find that when you start juicing, you use very few vegetables compared to fruit in juices. Indeed, with the exception of carrot, there are few vegetable juices that you could enjoyably drink neat. Most are simply too strong and need to be mixed with large quantities of other ingredients.
Some of the all time best juicing ingredients…
Of course, you can use anything you like - but there are some staples that you'll come back to time and time again. Here are some of the best ingredients to start off with:
Apples - the best apples for juices and smoothies are crisp, sharp varieties that make a large volume of juice. Try different varieties in a simple juice on its own to appreciate the range of flavors. Apples also make a fantastic base for any juice or smoothie - laden with health properties and full of Vitamin C, carotenes, pectin, potassium and malic acid. Among the best fruits for de-toxifying and boosting skin condition and a superb anti-aging ingredient in any drink.
Oranges - (and all citrus fruits): The classic fruit juice - fresh, home made orange or grapefruit juice is difficult to beat. Famous for their high Vitamin C and bioflavonoid content and a superb immune booster, they also contain folic acid, iron, potassium and thiamine. The pith contains the bioflavonoids so a juicer is better than a citrus press if you want to retain these.
Raspberries - wonderful addition to any juice or blended smoothie. Rich source of antioxidants, like all berries. Fantastic combined with apples or oranges in a mixed juice drink and adds superb colour to all juices and smoothies.
Strawberries - the most abundant and popular berry in the west, the strawberry is also one of the richest food sources of vitamin C and has an abundance of beneficial minerals, especially calcium - extremely important for good bone health.
Pineapple - perfect fruit for either a juice or smoothie. Rich in a range of vitamins, minerals and enzymes especially bromelain which is good for inflammatory conditions and digestion. Wonderful for adding sweetness and tropical flavor to a range of juices and smoothies.
Peaches/nectarines - produces a nectar like juice which is ideal for blended drinks. High beta-carotene content plus flavonoids, potassium and vitamin C make these fruit a wonderful anti-aging ingredient for the skin.
Banana - completely unjuiceable, but a great addition to any blended smoothie providing sweetness and texture. A nutritional powerhouse - full of fibre, vitamins and minerals, as well as carbohydrates which are a key source of energy.
Blueberry - small in size they may be but they are huge in flavor and goodness. Blueberries are laden with antioxidant, anti-aging nutrients such as vitamins A and C as well as bioflavonoids. They have a rich sweet taste in blended drinks to which they also give color and texture.
Mango one of nature's most sumptuous fruit, mangoes are extremely rich in beta-carotene as well as minerals such as magnesium. Mangoes have to be used ripe since that it when they are their optimal sweeness and richness of texture. A superb fruit for using in blended smoothies to add tropical sweetness and thickness.
Grapes - red grapes are particularly rich in antioxidant properties essential in an anti-aging diet. Their alkaline nature make them useful in cleansing and healing. A surprisingly delicious flavored plentiful juice which is an ideal mixer with many other fruits in juices and smoothies adding natural sweetness.
Carrot - The sweetest and best tasting of all the vegetable juices and a wonderful mixer with many fruit, especially apples. Carrots are packed with vitamins and minerals not least of which is the antioxidant beta-carotene. An anti-aging super-vegetable for its immune boosting and skin clearing properties.
Cucumber - A bland vegetable to eat but surprising full of flavor when juiced. Combines well with carrot and apple. A wonderful diuretic with de-toxifying properties and a high mineral balance including folic acid, potassium and silica. Surprisingly cucumber also has a small amount of beta-carotene in the skin.
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