Juicing and Juicer FAQs
General
Juicing and Juicer FAQ list
Are there any rules to follow when creating my own juice recipes?
There are no set rules to follow when creating your juice recipes as creating recipes to 'taste' is subject to personal preference. However the following guidelines may help you achieve more success with your juice recipes.
If you are juicing mainly green vegetables you may find that balancing the vegetables with apple and / or carrot juice in the proportion of 1/2 to 1/3 carrot / apple juice will make your juice taste better.
Whilst juicing garlic and leeks is of great benefit to your health it can cause stomach pains if added to your juice recipe in too high a concentraion. Try introducing Garlic and Leeks into your juices in small quantities and once you are familiar with their taste and effects on the stomach then build them up to a level that is prefereable to you.
Try to make sure that you are juicing both fruit and vegetables in your juice recipes so that you get a good spread of nutrients, especially phytochemicals - there are a huge number of phytochemicals and they are often unique to certain fruit and vegetable types.I normally follow other peoples juice recipes, should I be making my own up?
Not if you don't want to! Using existing juice recipes can save you a lot of time and ingredients as they have the benefit of being pre-tasted. Another bonus of using existing juice recipes is that they may have been made with the treatment of a certain condition in mind and so can help you when seeking juice recipes for health purposes.
Is is essential to use organic ingredients for use in my juicer?
Some people find that there may be an issue that stops them using organic produce in their juicing routines. The most common issues are the increased cost of organic produce and the lack of availability.
Whilst prefereable, is not essential to use organic produce in your juicer as using non organic produce will still give your body huge health benefits from the cocktail of nutrients inside the raw produce. Juices from non organic ingredients will also taste far better than any store bought juice.
If you are using non organic ingredients just make sure you wash them thoroughly before juicing to remove any pesticides / chemicals that may be present on the skin of the produce.
Which juicer should I buy? Which is the best juicer?
There is no set answer to this question as everyone will have different requirements that they want their juicer to fulfill. The following are the types of question you should be asking yourself when choosing a juicer:
What type of ingredients will I be juicing? i.e. Citrus fruits only, leafy vegetables, wheatgrass ...
How long do I want my juicer to last.
How easy is the juicer to clean?
How heavy is the juicer, will it be stored permanently on the worktop?\
How much can I afford to spend on a juicer?
For more information on seeing which juicer is right for you see the choosing a juicer article.What are the benefits of using organic produce in my juicer?
The benefits of using organic produce in your juice recipes including:
Freshness - organic produce isn't coated in moisture preserving wax like some non organic produce - especially apples and cucumbers. This means that you know your produce is fresh and of full nutritional value.
Lack of pesticides - this can speed up your juice preparation time as you don't have to thoroughly wash or peel your ingredients before putting them through your juicer. An extra benefit of this is that valuable nutrients that often have very high concentrations in and / or just under the skin aren't lost by peeling.
Care for the environment - the environment benefits from not being flushed with pesticides and other artificial chemicals that are used to enhance plant growth.Cleaning the juicer / chopping board etc after juicing can take a while, can I make a large batch of juice and store some of it for drinking later so I don't have to clean up more than once?
This is not recommended as it will affect the health benefits of the juice. The juicing process releases enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients from the fruit or vegetable cells. When the juice comes into contact with air oxididation occurs and this causes loss of enzymes and nutrients. You should drink your juice within 15 minutes of juicing to prevent loss of nutrients from oxidation.
Is Juicing or Blending better for fasting?
Juice recipes are more suitable for fasting than blender recipes as the blender recipes will contain much more fibre that is contained within the fruit / vegetables.
The more fibre that is present in your drink / food, the more energy is needed for use in digestion. This energy that is directed towards digestion therefore can't then be used in the process of detoxification and healing which are two primary aims of fasting.
How do I juice fine leaved produce such as basil or parsely?
It is generally accepted that you will get a much better juice yield from leafy greens if you use a masticating juicer rather than a centrifugal juicer.
If using a centrifugal juicer you can try sandwiching the leafy green between two pieces of 'hard' fruit such as apple or carrot. This will ensure that it gets pressed directly against the basket's grater.
I feel rather wasteful throwing the pulp created by juicing away, are there any uses for juice pulp?
Yes, juice pulp is high in fibre and therefore great for the digestive system. We must be careful when juicing that we get our quota of fibre from somewhere other than the juice as although some produce such as pears and apples contain soluble fibre it is not enough compared to the normal intake you would have got from eating (rather than juicing) the same fruit and vegetables.
There are many uses for juice pulp including:
Use in breads to add flavour and texture
Use in soups to add texture
Use in muffins - fruit pulp especially
Recombine with some of juice and add nuts for an alternative muesli type dish
Are there any fruit and vegetables that are not really suited to juicing?
The most obvious fruits that are not suitable for juicing are those with a low water content, these include Bananas and Avocaodos. If you want to create drinks that contain these types of ingredients then you are better off using a blender to blend the fruits with a low water content, You can then add your juice from other fruit / vegetables to the blended mixture to create a 'juice blend'.
Care should be taken when juicing ingredients that can cause uncomfortableness in the stomach such as cabbage, garlic and leeks.
How do I get rid of pesticides from my juice ingredients?
Rinsing your produce will remove some of the pesticide residues that are present on the surface of non organic produce. Some suggest rinsing your products in warm water with a tiny amount of washing up liquid, this should remove more surface pesticides than rinsing in cold water alone.
However produce may absorb some pesticides during growth and these are not removed by washing the produces surface. Certain types of produce have higher levels of pesticides applied to them, examples include Bell peppers and strawberries.
