2 Simple Methods To Make Concentrated Fruit Juices At Home
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Juices are tasty, healthy, and easy to make! That is why, all healthy diets recommend drinking one glass full of fresh juice every day.
Generally, fruit juices can be consumed directly, without any dilution. But concentrated fruit juices need to be mixed with plain water prior to drinking. Both flavor and consistency of this type of liquid are stronger than regular fruit juice. Yes, you can grab a pack of concentrated juice from the market, but most of these pre-packed varieties contain lots of artificial ingredients. If you really want to enjoy the benefits of juice, you need to consume it fresh. To skip these damaging elements, prepare your own concentrated fruit juice at home. But how to make concentrated fruit juice? Here is all you need to know about it:
Types Of Concentrated Fruit Juices And How To Make Them:
Basically, there are two types of fruits – juicy and non-juicy. While juicy fruits are extremely easy to juice up and a true delight for juice-lovers, extracting the sap from the non-juicy ones can be a real pain. So, depending upon the juice-ability of fruits, you can opt for any of the following two methods to make concentrated fruit juice:
1. Frozen Concentrate Methods:
This process is applicable to juicy and succulent fruits like lemon, lime, orange, mango, cucumber, watermelon, litchi, grapes, etc.
As the name suggests, this method involves freezing of the juice followed by its extraction from the fruits. Here is the step-by-step procedure:
- Start with cleaning and washing the fruits you want to juice up. Also, peel and slice them up (exception: grapes) before taking the sap out.
- Now, it is time to make the juice. There is a wide variety of juicers available in the market and you can choose any of them. Usually, an electric juicer, a hand juicer or a lime squeezer will be the best options. You can also make use of your hands if you wish.
- Transfer the entire juice to a freezing container and place it inside the refrigerator. Wait until it freezes completely.
- Now, take a bottle with a narrow neck that can accommodate the concentrated juice. Set it up by placing a medium-sized funnel on its mouth.
- Turn the freezing container containing the frozen juice over the funnel. Let it rest for sometime, so that the iced juice reaches room temperature and starts dripping out.
- All the concentrated fruit juice will come out of the freezing container and accumulate in the bottle through the funnel. The ice will become clear or transparent gradually. When the entire process is over, simply discard the ice.
- If you want to get enough of the fruit, freeze the juice at least twice and repeat the whole method as well. It will make the juice more concentrated and flavorful. The color of the juice will become darker too.
2. Boiled Concentrate Method:
This method is suitable for dry, non-juicy fruits like apple, banana, pear, pomegranate, papaya, berries, etc.
The name clearly tells us that the process revolves around boiling the fruits and reducing them to softer pulp. However, in this method, the end product may lack natural flavor and sweetness due to the application of heat. Given below is the step-by-step procedure:
- Once again, start with cleaning and washing the fruits you want to juice up. You also need to peel, deseed and slice them up.
- Now, take a medium-sized pot and place the fruit slices in it. Pour some fresh clean water to cover them.
- Place the pot on the oven and turn the heat on. Let the fruits boil by keeping the heat in medium. There is no need to cover the pot with a lid.
- Make sure to boil the fruit slices only and until they turn into a mushy pulp. If you boil them for a longer period, the water content will decrease and the flavor of the concentrated juice will also get affected significantly.
- Take a sieve and strain the fruit pulp through it. For a finer and clearer juice concentrate, strain it by using a clean cheesecloth.
And there you have it—fresh, homemade concentrated fruit juice, ready to be enjoyed! Drink your concentrated fruit juice fresh by adding the required amount of water to it or simply store it in your refrigerator for future use.
How do you like your juice? Do you have some special recipe for concentrated fruit juice? Share with us in the comments section below.
