Preparing Fruits & Veggies for Juicing

There are quite a few ways to extract the juice from fruits and vegetables. The oldest technique is know as the 'drip method', a simple method in which you put fruits in an open weave bag and hang it above a container that catches the drips. Steam juicing is another technique that uses heat to extract the juice from fruits. Modern style electric juicer machines use either many tiny blades (centrifugal juice extractors) or 'gears' (masticating juice extractors) to shred, chew and squeeze out juice. Regardless of which method we are using, fruits and vegetables need to be prepared correctly.

1. Thoroughly wash all the fruits and/or vegetables that you are going to juice. A vegetables brush is a great investment to clean out stubborn dirt that gets caught in the grooves of carrots and leafy green vegetables. For non-organic produce you can buy 'vegetable wash' a product that helps to remove pesticide residues.
   

2. Remove any bruised, overly soft, wrinkled or rotting spots. These defects can be tasted in the juice, and of course are not so good for us. Fresh only!
   

3. Peeling fruits or vegetables is a personal choice. The peels of fruits and vegetables have a certain taste and are not to everybody's liking. However, it is important to know that peels are an outsanding source of antioxidants. In many cases the peels contain more antioxidants that the actual flesh of fruits and vegetables.
   

4. The size that fruits and vegetables need to be sliced and diced into will depend on your juicer machine. Most centrifugal juice extractors have large feed chutes that accommodate whole fruits and vegetables, whereas masticating juice extractors have much smaller chutes, which increases prep time.
   

5. If you are using the 'steam juicing' or 'drip-bag' methods that you will need to simmer fruits and vegetables in a stainless steel pot on a low-medium heat until they soften.

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