Every Gardener Should Have a Steam Juicer

When people think of “juicing,” they often think of freshly squeezed green juice, which involves a lot of fresh fruit and a machine. But steaming juice is a different matter entirely: It’s an easy way to juice all the fruits you’re growing in your garden right now (plus veggies). It does what its name promises: instead of pressing fruits and vegetables, it steams them.

There is no need for preparation, stem removal or seed removal.

One of the best things about a steam juicer is that you don’t have to do much preparation. If you use a cider press or even a fresh milk juicer, you will have to core the apples and trim away any defects. To juice the same apples, simply cut them into quarters and throw them into the hopper. The steam will take care of this, resulting in a similar juice. You can add grapes or elderberries with stems, cherries with pits, or unpeeled strawberries.

The same goes for vegetables: to juice everything from beets and cabbage to cucumbers and tomatoes, you simply steam them without worrying about stems or seeds.

Steam juicers for beginners, professionals and those who want to get a lot of juice:

• Inexpensive entry-level steam juicer for 5 liters.
• A giant 11 liter juicer for when you need a lot of juice.
• A powerful juicer that will stand the test of time

How do steam juicers work?

A steam juicer is like a giant three-tier steamer. The bottom tier contains water, the middle tier is empty and shaped like a pan with a cone in the middle, and the top tier contains all the fruits and vegetables and looks like a colander. Water boiling in the lower tier pushes steam through the cone of the second tier to the upper tier. This steam combines with the fruit or vegetables, condenses on the lid, and then falls back through the colander onto the empty second tier. When it’s full enough, you empty it through a hose directly into jars so they can be processed, or into another container so it can be packaged and frozen.

The mechanics seem complicated, but it’s worth remembering that you can leave her alone while she goes through this process. You just need to make sure there is always water at the bottom and empty the middle tier regularly.

Access to fruit juice all year round

There are three key benefits that keep me juicing every year. First of all, it doesn’t require the best fruit; that’s kind. There are great end-of-season “seconds” sales on fruit and vegetables, and if you come across a basket of peaches or plums, this is a great way to use them up that doesn’t require as much work as jamming. . “Seconds” are fruits that are not perfect, but can still be used.

Secondly, if you’re just tired of canning season, this is an easy way to ship fruit without much effort. You don’t have to prepare it to go into the freezer, just pop it on top and let the steam do its thing.

Finally, my freezer is prime real estate. Steam juicing makes it easy to can the resulting juice, and in many cases you don’t need to add anything to the juice, such as sugar, before processing it. It comes out already crystal hot, so you can simply can it and then process the jars.

What to do with the prepared juice?

You may be thinking, “Why do I even need blueberry or cherry juice?” The fact is that juice is just as ideal a starting point for jams, sauces and even gummies as fresh fruit. When you’re ready to cook something in the middle of winter, you can grab a jar off the shelf and get to work.

However, never underestimate the power of your own grape or apple juice sitting on the drinking rack. Grapes are an easy commodity among gardeners; Someone always has too many, and you can usually find someone looking for gatherers. Grapes are high enough in sugar that no additional sugar is needed before canning, and as an adult I was glad to be reminded how good grape juice really is. Even apple or pear juice, plain and without additives, is incredibly good and makes great hot drinks in the winter.

My favorite juicer trick is to use up all the last tomatoes and other vegetables at the end of the season to make my own V8 knockoff . Vegetable juice is delicious year-round, but it also makes a great base for a Bloody Mary.