JUICE IT!

By Braeden

A couple of months ago, I was horrified when my friend Emily (one of our lovely contributors)  told me about how "not from concentrate" juice is actually a lot worse than the frozen stuff. Why? Because the frozen juice concentrate has fewer preservatives added to it, because it's, well, frozen. The cartons boasting "100% not from concentrate" labels are in fact filled with a liquid that has already spent a year in an industrial storage tank.

I now had a serious dilemma every time I reached for my dose of Florida sunshine. Visions of giant vats filled with orange-like substance, loaded with chemical preservatives haunted me whenever I needed a juice fix. So I started buying organic juice. But at $6 a carton, OJ was making  fewer appearances in my fridge.

Then one day, a friend from work was talking about how she makes her OWN juice concentrate. Brilliant! Any time she sees a cheap deal on oranges, lemons, limes, etc., she buys a bagful, juices them, and adds a simple syrup. Voila. Home-Made Juice Concentrate.

Here's what you'll need:
   
A Juicer:   An old-school hand juicer can be found at the Dollar Store, or most convenience stores. Or if you want to cut down on time and labor, you can find reasonably priced electric juicers online or at refurbished electronic stores. The juicer will eventually pay for itself.

Fruit of your choice:   Even if you don't have the coin to buy "organic" fruit, you'll still make a far less chemically altered juice than what comes from the carton. Kensington and Chinatown are great places to find cheap deals on citrus.
          
For 3 cups of juice you'll need approximately: 15 lemons
                                                                            or
                                                                    10 oranges
                                                                            or
                                                                    4 grapefruits

Simple Syrup:   Add 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water in a pot.
                         Bring to a boil, and stir until sugar dissolves.
                         Let cool for 10 minutes and add to the juice.

Freezer Storage Containers: With the above recipe, you can split the mix into 3 or 4 small containers or bags. Next time you want some juice, pull one from freezer, let thaw, and add water. For a refreshing treat, try adding your juice concentrate to sparkling water (or club soda for those of us on a budget).

By spending an afternoon making your own juice concentrate (or just plain juice) you can save a ton of money, cut down on your intake of chemical additives, and have a month's worth of emergency cocktail mixer stocked in your freezer. Enjoy experimenting and let us know what you come up with!

***For more industrial orange juice horror stories, check this out:
http://yalepress.typepad.com/squeezed/2009/07/that-notfromconcentrate-orange-juice-its-not-so-good-for-your-budget.html