Tag Archives: Juicing

02 Apr

Best Blackberries For Blackberry Juice And How To Choose Them

Blackberries, like other bramble fruits, are easy to grow. Some people find them too easy, for they can become invasive in a backyard that’s been allowed to go a bit wild. However, these wild blackberries are the best blackberries for juicing, for they can be harvested straight from the canes and be in the juicer minutes later, without losing any of their freshness or nutrients. You should choose blackberries that are deep purplish-black, look like they’re about to burst with juice and come away easily from the canes. You might want to wear gloves and cover up, since the thorns of blackberries are quite fierce, though there are some varieties, like the Apache, that are thornless.

Try the Farmers’ Market

Ironically, though they can become weeds in a backyard, blackberries are expensive to buy in a store or a farmers’ market. You might want to buy some from a farmers’ market before you visit a supermarket. The farmer will be able to tell you whether the blackberries are organic or not. They might be able to tell you the variety and whether they’re good for juicing, for eating out of hand, for jam and jellies, or all three. Some blackberry varieties also store better than others. The Navajo, for example, can stay firm for up to two to three weeks after they’re picked. Blackberries bought at farmers’ markets are almost certainly locally grown and might have been picked earlier that day. With the supermarket it’s possible that the blackberries were flown in from the other side of the country and have lost much of their flavor.

Blackberries can also be bought in the frozen food section. Some of these blackberries actually retain their flavor. Blackberries can stay frozen for up to two years.

Best blackberries for juicing

Some Good Juicing Varieties

Some of the best blackberries for juicing are the Triple Crown, another thornless variety with large, sweet berries. Triple Crown berries are known to ship well. Another is Hull, which ripens in the midseason and is very sweet. The Illini Hardy is another good blackberry for the juicer, for it has a medium sized and flavorful berry. Another good blackberry for juicing is the Siskiyou, which has a long and productive season and excellent flavor.

01 Apr

Best Apricots For Apricot Juice And How To Choose Them

The best apricots for juicing are the ones you grow yourself. It’s ideal if you have an orchard with an apricot tree or two in it, or if you live near an orchard where people are allowed to pick their own fruit. You’ll know to pick the fruit when all the green color is gone and the fruit yields a bit when you press your thumb into it. Pick the fruit by twisting and gently pulling upwards. Then, slice them, remove the pits and put them in the juicer. There’s no need to remove the skin.

If Apricots Are Store Bought

Whether at the store or farmers’ market, you should pick only unblemished fruits for the juicer, jams, drying, or anything else. Any blemished or bruised fruit stored with others in a container will spoil the rest of them. They should also have that delicious, apricot fragrance, and the fruit should feel heavy for its size. Frozen apricots are tricky when it comes to juicing, for their best flavor is retained after they’ve been partially dried, then frozen.

Best apricots for juicing

Best Apricot Varieties to Juice

The best apricots for juicing are the Dwarf Sungold and Dwarf Moongold, which are midseason apricots. Also good is the Goldcot, which has a sort of tangy flavor and the Royal Blenheim, a late season apricot from California. The flavor is quite intense. Another of the best apricots for juicing is the Tomcot, which is an early fruit with a sweet taste. One apricot-plum hybrid is the Aprium, whose juice has a plummy undertaste.

18 Mar

Best Carrots For Carrot Juice And How To Choose Them

The best carrots for juicing are the Nantes types, which are cylindrical and have blunt tips, but are the sweetest of the carrots, with good texture. Nantes carrots absorb more water and are both more succulent and crisp than other varieties of carrots. They also have fewer terpenoids, which is a substance that can make the juice of other carrots taste soapy and turpentine-like after they’re put through the juicer.

Harvesting and Storing Carrots

If you choose to grow your carrots in the garden, you should gently pull them out by their green tops. Newer variety carrots shouldn’t be allowed to grow fatter than one and a half inches across, or they’ll become woody and not very good for juicing. Some older varieties are still fairly succulent when they’re large.

If the carrots are grown in the garden or bought with their green tops, the green tops should be removed. The carrots shouldn’t be washed before storing. Ideally, they should be stored in sawdust or sand before they’re used. Some people do add the greens to the juicer, however, for they’re perfectly edible and give the juice the tang of parsley.

best carrots for juicing

Choosing The Best Carrots For Juice

If the carrots are store bought, it’s best to buy organic, for they won’t have to be peeled to rid them of the pesticides in their skin. The greens should be fluffy, short and bright.

Some of the Best Carrot Varieties For Juicing

Some of the best carrots for juicing are the Bolero, a bright orange Nantes type. The Ingot is another good Nantes carrot with a good flavor and texture. One of the most popular carrots that people grow in their gardens is the Nantes Half-Long, also called the Coreless and Scarlet Nantes, which is very sweet, tender and has no fibrous core, which is another plus for juicing. The Touchon is a sweet, French Nantes type and is especially good for the juicer. The Nelson is an early carrot and many gardeners claim that it’s one of the sweetest.