Vegetable juices, due to the abundance of vitamins, deservedly take pride of place on the Russian table. No worse than vegetables, they are able to enrich the diet with microelements and protect against a number of diseases, especially in the winter-spring period, when our immunity needs additional support. A huge amount of mineral and vitamin substances is also found in pumpkin juice. Three hundred grams of freshly squeezed product satisfy the daily requirement of the body for magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins A, B, E, C.
Pumpkin juice - general principles and methods of preparation
Few people know that the homeland of pumpkin is distant Mexico, where it got to North America, and then spread to the countries of Eurasia. Local aborigines with pleasure ate rich pulp for food, and seeds and juice were used for medicinal purposes. They knew very well the healing power of these pumpkin components. To this day, the "orange giant" rightfully bears the title of the best home healer.
Pumpkin juice is a drink for immunity. It concentrates many useful substances that play a decisive role in maintaining the body's defenses. In addition, pumpkin juice is rich in the rarest vitamin K, which is responsible for blood coagulation. However, the main benefit of the healing drink is its effect on the gastrointestinal tract, thanks to fiber and pectin. As you know, dietary fiber in the intestine is not absorbed and excreted unchanged, cleansing the intestinal wall of decay products and accumulated toxins.
The principle of making fresh squeezed juice from pumpkin is very simple. In order to get a useful product at home, you need to get a juicer - a simple device will allow you to separate the juice from the pulp in a matter of minutes. Squeeze juice should be at maximum speed. There is another option for making pumpkin juice, but more troublesome: tinder the pulp on a grater and squeeze it with clean gauze, folding it into several layers.
Fresh squeezed juice from a pumpkin has a pleasant sweetish taste, but, unfortunately, not everyone likes it because of the specific shades. In this case, it is recommended to mix it with other types of juice - vegetable, fruit or berry. For example, you can add carrot or a few drops of lemon juice and sugar. As a result, the taste is softer and richer. Pumpkin juice can also be stored for the future, for the winter, if it is not possible to store fresh vegetables at home.
Pumpkin juice - product preparation
To make the juice brighter, more saturated and sweet, young fruits weighing up to 5-7 kg with bright orange pulp should be selected. This pumpkin has more carotene and natural fructose. We clean the vegetable from the skin, seeds, cut into slices and squeeze the juice using a juicer. If other vegetables or fruits are involved in the process of preparing pumpkin juice, we do the same with them. It is advisable not to store freshly squeezed product for too long, but to drink immediately.
Pumpkin juice - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Classic Pumpkin Juice with Cranberries
Cranberries, pumpkin and honey together give an amazing combination. Instead of cranberries, you can add any berry-vegetable-fruit juices, as well as use one pumpkin. Why did we choose cranberries for the combination? Yes, because she is a real champion in the content of mineral and vitamin substances.
Ingredients:
- two kg cranberries
- two kg of pumpkin
- honey or sugar to taste
Cooking method:
We clean the pumpkin, cut into slices, squeeze the juice out of them (using a juicer). We also squeeze juice out of cranberries. Mix, add honey or sugar to taste. It should be noted that the juice should be squeezed immediately before use. There is nothing complicated in this manipulation.
Pumpkin juice for the winter
Recipe 2: Pumpkin Juice for the Winter with Lemon
Making it does not require too much effort, but as a result, tasty pumpkin juice for the winter, which is also useful, will always be at hand and will be able to provide the family with all the necessary substances in the winter cold, especially during the difficult period of epidemics. Such pumpkin juice can be stored for a long time both in the refrigerator and in sterilized jars.
Ingredients:
- one kilogram of pumpkin (pulp)
- 250 gr. Sahara
- about 2 liters of water
- one lemon
Cooking method:
Grated pumpkin pulp is grated and poured with sugar syrup (boiling). Mix and cook on very low heat for twelve to fifteen minutes. Then remove the pan, cool its contents. Then grind the pumpkin with a sieve or a blender and return it to the pan. Immediately add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Bring the juice to a boil and boil for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end of cooking, pour it into sterilized jars and roll it up.
To prepare pumpkin juice with lemon juice, it is very important to choose the optimal dishes. An enameled pan without chips is best suited for these purposes. It is not allowed to cook acidic dishes in aluminum dishes, since aluminum, in contact with an acidic environment under the influence of high temperature, turns into heavy toxic compounds that enter the body with the product.
Recipe 3: Pumpkin Juice for the Winter with Orange
The method of preparing juice is similar to the 2nd recipe, but has several differences. Firstly, we will triple the amount of citrus fruits, and secondly, add a little citric acid to the juice.
Ingredients:
- one pumpkin (medium)
- 200 gr. Sahara
- 10-15 gr. citric acid
- three oranges
- water
Cooking method:
Pour sliced pumpkin into water so that it reaches the level of slices. Cook after boiling for only three to five minutes. Cool, wipe the pumpkin through a sieve and return to the pan again. Add acid and sugar. Squeeze the juice from oranges and send it there. Bring the juice to a boil and immediately turn it off. Then pour into jars.
Recipe 4: Pumpkin juice for the winter with apples
Which apples to prefer? Of course, green is desirable, since they are more useful than other varieties. If this is not possible - choose any, most importantly, so that they are not overripe.
Ingredients:
- one kilogram of pumpkin
- 250 gr. sugar (a little less)
- one kilogram of apples
- lemon zest (one lemon)
Cooking method:
Using a juicer, squeeze the juice from apples and pumpkins. We mix them together in a bowl or pan, add lemon zest, sugar. We bring the pumpkin-apple juice to 90 ° C and maintain it at this temperature for about five minutes (no more). Next, let him sweat on the stove turned off and pour it into jars while still hot. At will, roll up.
Recipe 5: Pumpkin juice for the winter with carrots and dried apricots
We suggest you try another option for making pumpkin juice, in which we add a little carrot, as well as healthy dried apricots.
Ingredients: (for three kilograms of pumpkin)
- four carrots
- 500 gr. dried apricots
- 1.2 kg of sugar
- three liters of water
- 15 gr. citric acid
Cooking method:
Cut the pumpkin, peeled carrots and dried apricots into slices. We put all the ingredients in a pan and pour water. From the moment of boiling, cook for about two hours. After which the solid contents of the pan are cooled, the broth is not discarded. Slices of pumpkin, carrots and dried apricots in a blender, transfer to an empty pan, adding a glass of broth. Now spread sugar and acid, bring to a boil and cook until sugar is completely dissociated.
Pumpkin juice - contraindications
Especially careful pumpkin juice should be consumed by people suffering from low acidity of the stomach, irritable bowel syndrome. With severe disorders in the digestive tract, diarrhea, pumpkin and its components should be completely excluded from the diet until all functions of the gastrointestinal tract are restored. In addition, a number of individuals develop an allergic reaction to carotene or individual intolerance to some of the components contained in the pumpkin.
Comments
