Home juicer makes autumn harvest sweeter
08.10.2008 04:00
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- Source: Home Envy
Autumn is a bittersweet time of the year. While memories of summer linger fresh and fond, and gorgeous October weather hangs on, no one can deny that the good days we've got left are numbered. Winter is coming, and one of the best ways to glean the most joy from the dwindling days of autumn is by experiencing home squeezed juices made from local fruits and vegetables. They're the sweetness of summer in a glass, and as I've discovered, they're more accessible than I used to think. The first time I experienced a glass of fresh-made apple cider was at a kids' party about ten years ago. The experience left me hooked on the idea of owning my own cider press. And while the sights and smells and taste of that honest, wholesome juice stuck with me, the large size and high cost of a good cider press always held me back. I really couldn't justify the purchase, but now I'm not even interested any more. I've found something that works better. For the last six months, we've been using a kitchen power tool made by an Australian company called Breville. Over this time we've used it to juice all kinds of fruits and vegetables (including apples), experiencing them in a new way. But it wasn't until we made juice from our own backyard apples that the full value of the machine became obvious to me. The machine is called the Juice Fountain Elite. It's available from specialty retailers across Canada, and there are two things that impress me about it. First, this thing produces juice fast. Not quite as fast as that cider press that got me interested in the first place, but very fast, nevertheless. About 15 seconds is all it takes to produce a full glass of juice. You can make gallons of the stuff in an hour. But unlike a single-purpose, traditional cider press, the juice fountain works with just about every kind of fruit and vegetable on the planet. One of my favourite juices comes from carrots. Watermelon works quite well, too. Fresh juice made from Ontario peaches is so addictive it should be controlled by some kind of government licensing board. Before you let my enthusiasm for homemade juices persuade you, let me offer a warning. If you're only interested in juice because it's sweet and cold and wet, then a juicer probably isn't for you. The machine has to be stored and cleaned and used, so it's definitely more work that unscrewing the cap from a plastic jug. But if you're something of a food adventurer, and don't mind investing a little work into your quest for unique, top-quality foods, then I've got to tell you that juicers are fun, especially if you've got kids in your life. Most love to pick fruit, then lend a hand turning it into a sweet drink. At $350, the Breville juicer isn't cheap, though it's less than a basic cider press and extremely well made. You feed juiceables into a tube on top, then push them down with a plastic cylinder. Fruits and vegetables are grated, then spun against a fine, spinning filter that separates juice from pulp. Juice flows into a jug on one side, pulp spits out into a plastic waste can on the other. Lining a plastic shopping bag into the waste tub before use makes clean up much easier. Of all the items we've juiced, hard fruits and vegetables work best. Grapes yield a wonderful juice, but the filter system lets more liquid escape with the pulp than I like. Also, some juices produced with the Breville contain a lot of fine fibre. It's undoubtedly very good for you, but if you'd rather not have any in your drinks, then simply let your jug of juice sit for a while. The fibre settles to the bottom, letting you pour off the clear liquid. Good food is about more than just taking in enough calories to stay alive. With the right tools on your side, you can take an active part in exploring foods that are fresher and more unique than anything available on store shelves. And if this exercise also keeps our minds off impending winter for a little while longer, then that's all the better.
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