This delicious strawberry juice recipe is perfect for a refreshing summer drink!
How Many Strawberries Do You Need For This Recipe?
A single large strawberry will provide about 7-8 tablespoons (or 1/4 cup) of juice when pressed in your hand.
If you are using frozen strawberries instead of fresh ones, then the amount of liquid is reduced even further.
A good rule of thumb is that 1 cup (240 ml) of freshly squeezed juice equals 2 cups (480 ml) of frozen juice.
The number of strawberries needed depends on how much juice you prefer.
You can always add more if you think there isn’t enough juice, but I find that 3 or 4 medium sized berries should be plenty.
If you like your drinks very sweet, feel free to increase the quantity of sugar as well.
You may also choose to replace some of the water with lemonade, which adds an extra layer of flavor to the smoothie.
Just keep in mind that adding any non-fruit juices will dilute the taste of your juice.
Another tip that might help you out is replacing half of the fruit with ice cubes.
This way you get a thicker consistency while still maintaining the same amount of sweetness.
What Type Of Juice Do You Want To Use?
Strawberries are naturally sweet so we don’t have to worry about adding any additional sugars in our recipes.
The only thing that could potentially cause issues would be if your juice was too acidic or not acidic enough.
If you’re concerned about how strong your juice tastes, try using less water than recommended on the label (or none at all).
If you feel like adding some sweetness, try this method: Place one cup of fresh strawberries into a blender along with 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of honey.
Blend until smooth, then strain through cheesecloth and serve immediately.
How Much Sugar Do You Want To Add?
The amount of sugar added depends on how sweet your strawberries are.
The sweeter they are, the less sugar will be needed in this recipe.
If you have some ripe red berries that are not quite as sweet as others, then you’ll need more than one teaspoon of sugar per cup (240ml) of juice.
If your berries are very tart, then you may only need half a teaspoon of sugar per cup.
You don’t want to add too much sugar though because it will overpower the natural sweetness of the fruit.
You also don’t want to go overboard either, otherwise the result won’t taste like fresh strawberry juice at all.
So, play around with the amounts until you get what you think is right.
To ensure the best results from this recipe, you should try making it first using a small quantity of sugar so that you know exactly how much you need before adding the rest.
Once you have mastered the process, you can move onto larger quantities.
Do You Want To Add Any Other Fruits To The Juice?
If you’re making this strawberry juice recipe on your own you may decide that it would also taste great made with raspberries or blueberries too.
You could even try adding some blackberries if you have them growing in your garden — they would give a nice purple color to the juice.
Whatever fruit you choose to add will depend on what kind of blender you are using.
If you don’t have one of those handy little food processors then you might find yourself reaching for an old-fashioned blender instead.
Or maybe you’ll opt for a Vitamix or Blendtec because they’ve got more power than most normal blenders so you won’t need to strain out all of the pulp after blending everything together.
You should definitely add at least half cup (120ml) of water when adding fresh fruit to the juicer as it helps to keep the juices from separating once they come through the machine.
And you might consider adding a bit more depending on how juicy your chosen fruit was before processing.
It’s always best to start off low and work up to higher amounts until you get used to experimenting with different quantities.
The amount of sugar you need to add depends on whether or not you want to sweeten the finished product.
So if you prefer your drinks with less sweetness then you probably wouldn’t add any sugar at all.
But if you like to sweeten things up then you could easily double the amount I suggest below.
And if you like to experiment with flavors then why not try adding something else besides strawberries? For example, you could add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or a few drops of orange oil.
Both these items will improve the flavor and smell of the berries without changing their appearance in the slightest.
Stirring the blended mixture every now and again while it’s cooling down will help to ensure that there aren’t any clumps of fruit left behind in the jar where they should ideally disappear completely.
Just remember that you shouldn’t stir the mixture right away as this will cause the juice to separate into layers which means you’d end up with two distinct parts rather than a single liquid.
What Type Of Blender Do You Want To Use?
If you don’t have one already, consider getting yourself a high-powered blender or juicer.
Blenders come in many sizes and strengths, so there are plenty out there that will suit your needs.
- Blender – These blenders are great if you need something that can handle large amounts of food at once. They’re also best used on items like soups or smoothies as they won’t cut through hard vegetables very well.
- Juicers – If you only plan to consume small quantities of fruit then perhaps a standard juicer would be more suitable for you. Some models even allow you to squeeze the fruit into them rather than chopping up the produce first.
- NutriBullet – Nutribullets are incredibly popular these days because of their versatility. You can get a wide range of different blades and attachments to give you various types of food preparation options. You could easily use this machine to grind nuts too so it works well for anyone who likes nut butter recipes.
Do You Want To Strain The Juice?
You may or may not wish to strain your juices before drinking them.
For example, if you are making carrot juice, you probably won’t need to strain that one.
If you have made any other fruit-based drinks in the past (for example, apple cider) then you will likely find that the pulp remains after straining out the seeds and skins.
You could simply leave this pulp behind as part of your final product but, personally, I don’t like that idea – especially when my kids were asking me what was left over from the juicing process.
So, I decided on an alternative method…
The first thing we did was remove all the pips and seeds from our strawberries.
We used a small potato peeler to quickly accomplish this task.
When removing the pips, try to keep them together so they are easier to remove.
Once they had been removed, we added some fresh water to our berries and placed them into a high speed blender.
Then, using a spoon, we carefully stirred the mixture until smooth.
If you prefer, you could also use a hand held electric mixer instead of blending manually with a spoon.
After stirring the strawberry puree, we transferred it to a large bowl.
Using two clean hands, we gently squeezed each berry to extract its last drops of liquid.
The amount of squeezing required varies depending upon how juicy your berries are.
With really wet ones, you might just need to squeeze hard enough to get most of the juice out – otherwise, give them more time.
Once we had extracted every drop of liquid possible, we returned the pureed berries back into the blender and continued mixing until completely smooth.
Then, we strained the mixture again using cheesecloth.
It doesn’t matter whether you choose to use a fine mesh sieve or a muslin cloth.
Simply line the filter material with a piece of kitchen towel and place it inside a large colander set over a deep pan.
Pour the pureed berries through the lined filter, allowing the liquid to pass through while retaining the solid pieces of fruit.
Finally, pour the remaining liquids into another container and discard the solids.
At this point, we had two containers filled with strawberry puree.
One contained the “seedless” version of the puree whilst the second contained the original version containing the seeds and skin fragments.
Now, we needed to decide which we wanted to consume.
Would we enjoy the taste of the seedless variety or would we rather eat something else? Personally, I think the latter option sounds better so we opted to save the seedless juice for later consumption.
To store the seeds and skins, we poured the contents of the second container into a glass jar.
A layer of paraffin wax followed next, then a few layers of dry rice paper and finally a top layer of cotton wool.
By doing this, we created a good seal around the jar and prevented oxygen from entering the jar.
After sealing the jar tightly, we stored it at room temperature for 24 hours before consuming it.
For those who still wished to consume their strawberry purees, here’s the recipe:
- 1 cup of freshly harvested strawberries
- ½ cup of filtered water
- ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice
(Note: Lemon juice helps prevent oxidation.)
Place the strawberries in a blender along with ½ cup of filtered water. Add half a teaspoon of lemon juice to help preserve the color of the juice.
Blend until completely smooth.
Strain the blended juice once more using a cheesecloth and transfer it into a large pitcher.
Store the juice in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
How Much Ice Do You Want To Add?
You can use as little or as much ice as you want.
It’s up to your preference.
If you prefer more of a slushy texture, add less ice so that there are still some chunks in each glass.
If you like it smoother, add more ice cubes.
You may also want to put the glasses into the freezer before adding the liquid if you have time.
That will help solidify the ice and give it a nice consistency when serving.
The amount of juice you need depends on how many strawberries you used to make this recipe.
A good rule of thumb is one cup (8 ounces) of fruit per person served.
So, if you made three cups of fresh berries, you would have 3/4 cup (6 ounces) of juice left over after straining.
Do You Want To Add Any Other Ingredients?
If you have any additional ingredients that you would like to include in your drinks, please feel free to list them below.
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, cut into quarters (optional)
- 3 cups water or ice-cold sparkling water (add more if needed)
- Stir all ingredients together and enjoy immediately!
What Type Of Container Do You Want To Use?
I love this juice because I don’t have to worry about how long it will last in my refrigerator or freezer.
Storing food is always difficult because there are so many variables that could affect its shelf life.
For example, if your juice has been left out too long after being opened, then it would probably taste bad when you try to consume it.
If you plan on making large batches of this juice, then the best option is to invest in an airtight storage container like Tupperware.
It comes in all shapes and sizes, but the most common one is made from polycarbonate plastic that keeps liquids fresh up to two years.
You need something similar if you plan on storing juices at room temperature as well.
You should choose containers that come with lids made from BPA-free materials.
These types of containers are safe to use without worrying about leaching chemicals into the beverage inside.
But what if you only intend on consuming small quantities of this juice every week or month? If that’s the case, then glass jars might work better than plastic.
Glass bottles also allow you to see exactly how much liquid you have left in them before purchasing more.
However, I prefer using glass bottles over jars because they’re easier to clean and sanitize.
So, if you decide to purchase these items separately, look for products that come with their own lids and seals.
That way, you won’t have to spend extra money buying new ones each time you open or close the jar/bottle.
What Is The Best Way To Store The Juice?
You can find this juice in almost any supermarket or health food shop.
The only thing that needs to be considered when storing the juice is how much sugar is added as well as the amount of fruit used (which will depend on your personal preference).
It’s recommended that you keep the juice refrigerated until needed so that it doesn’t go bad too quickly.
It should last around one week if stored correctly but there are some exceptions depending on which brand of juice you buy.
If using frozen fruit, add an extra 15 minutes to the cooking time as these fruits have already been cooked before freezing.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Ripe Strawberries
- Juice from 1/4 Lime or Lemon optional
- 1 tablespoon Sugar optional
- 1 cup Cold Water
- 2 Ice Cubes
- 1 halved Strawberry for garnishing
Instructions
- Wash, cut into small pieces, and stem off strawberries.
- Blend strawberries, sugar, and lime juice in a blender. The amount of sugar and lime juice depends on how ripe the strawberries are.
- Blend to a puree consistency. Remix for a minute after adding water.
- Pour the prepared juice into a big container with a fine mesh strainer over it to catch any froth that formed during the blending process. To get rid of the froth, you can also use cheesecloth. This step is not required.
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My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.