ARE YOU TEAM BLEND OR TEAM JUICE?
It’s a weirdly contentious debate, but it goes something like this: the blender folks claim that when you juice fruit you strip it of the fiber that is, in and of itself, nutritious; the juice folks claim that when you shred, “masticate,” or otherwise crush the fruit down, leaving only the juice, you’ve made the vitamins and minerals more bioavailable.
When it comes to debating which super nutritious preparation of a super nutritious food is superior, it’s probably not entirely necessary to assign a definitive winner. Let’s face it, the smoothie people have a point, and Team Juice makes a solid argument as well. Neither is a perfect fruit delivery system, but both are pretty darn close to it. A popular middle ground here at the office is a blender preparation with extra ice and/or water so you get the beneficial fiber with a “juicier,” less fibrous consistency.
When it comes to juicing berries specifically, you can run into some trouble—at least in terms of cost-effectiveness. When it comes to berries and juice, there isn’t much “there” there. An orange produces a decent amount of juice when squeezed away from the meaty pulp—take the “pulp” away from the strawberry, and you’re not left with much…of anything. If you’re really jonesing for a smooth, seedless raspberry or strawberry juice, we recommend whizzing the fresh berries with an immersion blender and then straining the juicy pulp through a nut milk bag or several layers of cheesecloth.
If the brand-spankin’ new juicer is already in your cart and you’re determined to squeeze every last drop of both fruit juice and worth out of it, consider adding strawberries and raspberries to other larger, juicier fruit blends. Orange-pineapple-strawberry and apple-raspberry are both divine. Creating blends allows you to enjoy that sweet berry taste without tossing 500+ perfectly lovely berries into your juicer’s masticating maw.
Happy blending to our smoothie brethren, and happy juicing to those who prefer things pulpless!
Image: Delicious Well•Pict Berries raspberries ready for the blender or juicer
