Juicer: Taste Testing, Part 1

Posted: July 20, 2012 | Author: Jena | Filed under: body/mind/spirit, Experimentation, Garden, Jena's work, playing with our food, sensory | Leave a comment »

I have a new gadget, bought with a super discount, just the way I like it, and it will serve my growing family well. It’s a juicer. We take it out of the package, clean all the removable parts and pick out the fruits we want to try as a first step to experimenting with our new kitchen machine.

In our fridge, we have grapes, oranges, mango, nectarine and blueberries. I take a small glass out for each fruit, and one at a time, turn them into juice. I peel the oranges and mango and cut the nectarine up into slices before juicing them, but the smaller of the fruit, I add as is. Sometimes, the color of the juice surprises us and we start to guess the color before is pours out of the nozzle.

Each child has a straw of their own. We set out each glass of juice on their little lunch table. 5 kids take turns with 5 different fruit juices, taking a sip and passing. I ask which is their favorite.

Three out of four like the blueberry best, but as they pass the juices, they say, “that’s my favorite, yum.”
I put the peels and pulp in the compost bin.

And I start on step 2 of juicer experimentation, which is add veggies. I combine grape, blueberry and spinach. The kids like this too. I then, take it step too far, or maybe they’re too full from all the sampling. Carrots, spinach and grapes go into the juicer and is rejected promptly. A friend recommends putting the juice in an opaque cup with a cover and straw so the green color doesn’t influence the kids impression of the drink.

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