Juices

Naturally delicious and high in nutrients, fruit and vegetable juices are delightfully refreshing beverages. many juice are readily available in bottles, cartons, tins and frozen concentrate, however; they're also often diluted and sweetened with sugar. Frozen concentrates often contain added sugar as well. For the best flavor and greater nutritional value, make your own juices.

Citrus juice. A citrus fruit will give more juice if you first roll it on a counter with the palm of your hand or warm it in a microware oven for a few seconds. Cut the fruit in half crosswise and press the halves against the dome of a citrus juicer to force out the liquid. Watch out for seeds.

Soft fruits. Melons, berries, grapes, cherries and so forth can easily be made into juice. Start with very ripe fruit at room temperature. rinse it well and remove any blemishes, stems and seeds. Cut the fruit into small pieces, place in a blender and process until pieces, place in a blender and process until pureed, pour the puree into a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for several hours. Then strain the puree through a layer of muslin into a pitcher.

Hard fruits and vegetables. To make juice from hard fruits and vegetables, rinse them well and remove any blemishes, stems and seeds. Chop coarsely, place in a saucepan, add enough water to cover and simmer until soft. Remove from heat and cool; then follow the instruction above for soft fruits.

The easy way. Electric juice extractors for citrus fruits are easy to use and fairly inexpensive. You can also buy machines that will press juice from any fruit or vegetable - oranges, peaches, tomatoes, you name it. These too are easy to use and give excellent results.

Many blenders and food processors have optional juicing attachments; using these, you can make delicious juice from fruits and vegetable with very little effort.

Serving. Chill all juices thoroughly before serving. Add a tiny pinch of salt to bring out the flavor of vegetable juices; sweeten fruit juices to taste with sugar or honey, if desired. Ice in the glass is optional. Store juices in the refrigerator, tightly covered; they'll keep for about a week.

Collections of Juices Recipes:

1. Tomato-cucumber juice

2. Spiced Sweet Tomato Juice

3. Uncooked Homemade Tomato Juice

4. Emerald Blend

5. Vegetable Cocktail

6. Dilled Cucumber Drink