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How to make fruit and vegetable juice with a blender

A blender, through its high-speed rotating blades, is designed to blend food. Unlike a juice extractor, a blender does not separate the juice of a food from its pulp. If you’re juicing with a blender, you don’t want to blend only or mostly foods like bananas that don’t contain much juice. Instead, try blending fruit and vegetable combinations that contain higher levels of juice so that the blend is not mushy. Pineapples and green vegetables are good foods to juice in a blender. You can also add a little water to the food, while blending it, to keep it in a nice runny shape.

Follow these steps to make great homemade juice using a blender:

• Before juicing, wash all fruits and vegetables well. Use a produce brush or scouring pad to clean the skin of any fruit or vegetables that will not be removed before blending. Remove thick, inedible peels or skins from fruits such as oranges, pineapples, or bananas.
• Cut fruits and vegetables into manageable-sized pieces. Smaller pieces of fruit and vegetables will not stress the blender blades or motor and will help the unit run smoothly.
• Remove any large seeds or pits such as those found in cherries, papayas, oranges, apples, or apricots. If desired, pass fruits that have smaller seeds, such as raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries, through a strainer to partially remove some seeds.
• Slowly add the fruit and vegetable pieces to the blender. Don’t add too many pieces at once. The drive motor must not be overloaded. Blend fruits and vegetables to desired consistency.
• If desired, after blending, and depending on the type of fruit and vegetable you are blending, pour the blended juice through a strainer to further remove seeds, pulp, and fiber.
• Smoothie juice is best drunk immediately. If you don’t consume it right away, store the juice in an airtight container and refrigerate.