Juices

[FarmerShawn]

We can about 80 quarts of tomatoes, and a few jars of pickles, though we don't really eat that many pickles; we just like to experiment. Mostly we freeze stuff, but last year I got an Excalibur dehydrator, and had it going almost full time at the end of summer. Best luck came from dried tomatoes - all kinds - and peppers, hot and sweet. And of course apples. Sweet corn dries nicely, and makes a nice crunchy snack, but grind some up and add it to your favorite corn bread or muffin recipe, and the result is eye-poppingly good. Of course we root cellar what we are able to. Carrots I leave in the ground, mulch heavily with leaves late in the fall, and dig all winter, after shoveling the snow off, despite twenty below temps. They get sweeter than ever.
We somehow just have not yet got into drinking our vegetables, though.
Shawn

[Durgan]

The little bit of residue is not worth the effort to utilize in the big picture. It is mostly cellulose and seeds.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?OFQLU 17 June 2013 Green Produce Juice
Juice was made from the green produce in the garden, romaine lettuce,broccoli,pak choi, some kale, chives, mint, dill, radish.The broccoli was starting to bolt. The produces was cut into small pieces and cooked and made into slurry.The produce was covered with water about six litres for processing. The cooked product was put through a food mill strainer, then the residue of the straining was put through a Champion juicer to extract most of the nutrients.Six litres of juice was obtained and this was pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature. Pictures depict the process.

[tlintx]

Did you know you can make muffins from the leftover pulp?

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by tlintx

Did you know you can make muffins from the leftover pulp?

That discard is pretty rough. No need to feel guilty throwing the final filtering from the Champion Juicer out. It is devoid of nutrients and a bit rough for the human digestive system. For my starch, I make pilot bread of various types.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?UBAMR 21 June 2013 Vegetable Juicing
The green vegetables in the garden were ready for using. Vegetables used,tomatoes, romaine lettuce, pak choi,kale, collards, mint, onion, chives,basil,dill.Everything available was made into a juice and pressure canned for long term storage at room temperature.All the vegetables were washed, cut into small pieces, cooked, and blended into a slurry.The slurry was put through a food mill, then the residue of the food mill was put through a Champion juicer. Seven litres of juice was obtained and was pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes. Pictures depict the process.

[Redbaron]

That just sounds healthy and delicious!

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?JXDDN 25 July 2013 Vegetable Juice
Twelve litres of vegetable juice was made from garden produce. Kale, beets, cucumbers,green beans and celery were the main ingredients. The produce was cooked and beat into a slurry and strained then placed in litre jars and pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage.Pictures depict the process.

[Redbaron]

The question is how does it taste?

[Durgan]

All vegetable juice has the same taste. I use no condiments. The criteria is nutrition.

But one could swamp it like all commercial products if desired.

[tlintx]

I like the Trader Joe's veggie drink. It's a little spicy, very fresh tasting. Not "cooked" like V8.


Tl

[coronabarb]

Well, unless one has a nice garden (and sometimes life intervenes to not allow that), commercial juice is the only juice. I think we all would prefer nice homemade juice if possible. :-)

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by coronabarb

Well, unless one has a nice garden (and sometimes life intervenes to not allow that), commercial juice is the only juice. I think we all would prefer nice homemade juice if possible. :-)

I use a fair amount of bought produce, which I do not grow in sufficient quantities if at all. Corn, cherries, blueberries, sometimes pears, muskmellon, pumpkin, elderberries, apples, to name most. It does take a bit of effort to pressure can, but I have it down to a system, and don't find it too onerous.

A small area in a backyard can produce a lot of food under the right conditions. I produce my tomatoes, all the greens, potatoes, onions, garlic, blackberry, gooseberry, currants, grapes, cucumbers, asparagus,green beans, green peppers, eggplant. The wastage is large unless a preserving method is used. I use the juicing method with great success. Last year I canned around 400 litres and will have the same amount this year or a bit more.

[tlintx]

I agree about the commercial stuff -- I like the TJ's because it's tasty and more nutritious than a glass of OJ or a Coke. My favorite is actually home juiced celery, spinach, and lemon juice.

I'm excited to increase production this season, and over the winter, and next spring... this spring I managed tomatoes, greens, and a few peppers. Our climate is not friendly to a lot of berries and fruits, but I'm not complaining, because we have a great climate for many other things.

Maybe I should go dig my juicer out of the garage? Or I could use my blender. Do you think freezing the juice would negatively impact it?

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by tlintx

I agree about the commercial stuff -- I like the TJ's because it's tasty and more nutritious than a glass of OJ or a Coke. My favorite is actually home juiced celery, spinach, and lemon juice.

I'm excited to increase production this season, and over the winter, and next spring... this spring I managed tomatoes, greens, and a few peppers. Our climate is not friendly to a lot of berries and fruits, but I'm not complaining, because we have a great climate for many other things.

Maybe I should go dig my juicer out of the garage? Or I could use my blender. Do you think freezing the juice would negatively impact it?

My view:Freezing is fine for meat, but leaves a lot to be desired for vegetation. A human diet probably requires as much variety as possible to corporate all the necessities over the long term. I have found juicing can encompass almost anything with ease and ingesting is possible with little effort. Certainly one can juice almost any produce in the peak of condition. Fresh vine ripened is the ideal, but most do not live in a climate where such is possible, so we have to compromise. Unfortunately, we have handed our food preparation over to commercial interests, possible or more probably to the detriment of our health and well being.

Some relatively modern tools for food preparation have simplified canning in particular. Ease of operation food mills for straining, sure beats cheese cloth. Juicers which are basically different sized screens tend to get more nutrients out of the process. Some only supply water but others tend to get most of the useful material for consumption. A Champion juicer and a simple food mill are a big improvement over what our pioneer ancestors has to contend with. Of course, any food preparation takes time and effort. Many people are not prepared to expend the effort for various reasons.