Pineapple, Turmeric and Ginger Juice
Aperçu
This is a cold pressed juice of pineapple, fresh turmeric root and fresh ginger root, and the source names no country for it. All three ingredients are grown and widely used across West and East Africa, and ginger and turmeric in particular are staples of Ghanaian and Nigerian kitchens, but the drink as written is not attached to a documented tradition. What it does have is a clear method: everything goes through a slow juicer rather than a blender. That distinction matters. A slow, or masticating, juicer crushes and presses, separating the juice from the fibre and generating very little heat, which keeps the colour bright and the flavour clean. A high speed blender leaves the pulp in and produces a thick smoothie instead. Turmeric and ginger are both rhizomes, closely related, and both stain heavily. Fresh turmeric will colour a plastic juicer, a chopping board and your hands a vivid yellow that takes days to fade. The juice keeps a week or two refrigerated in airtight glass bottles, which is longer than most fresh juices manage, and the ginger is doing much of that work. Because no country is claimed in the source, none is claimed here.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Wash and peel the pineapple and dice it into smaller pieces for juicing.
- 2
Clean and peel the turmeric roots and chop them into small pieces.
- 3
Clean and peel the ginger roots and chop them into small pieces.
- 4
Switch on a slow juicer and feed the diced pineapple, chopped turmeric and chopped ginger through it in batches, so the juice separates from the chaff.
- 5
Transfer the extracted juice to a measuring cup and pour it into airtight glass bottles.
- 6
Refrigerate and drink within one to two weeks.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Rashidatu Alhassan- Use a slow or masticating juicer rather than a blender. A blender leaves the fibre in and gives a thick smoothie rather than a clear juice.
- Wear gloves for the turmeric, or accept yellow hands for several days. It stains plastic chopping boards permanently.
- Go carefully with the ginger the first time. A third of a cup of raw ginger root is genuinely fierce and easy to overdo.
- Use glass bottles rather than plastic, both because turmeric stains plastic and because glass keeps the juice fresher.
- Fill the bottles to the top so there is less air, which slows the loss of colour and flavour.
- A pinch of black pepper is often added to turmeric drinks, and a squeeze of lime lifts the whole thing.
Questions fréquentes
Do I need a slow juicer?
It is what the recipe is written for and it gives the best result: a masticating juicer crushes and presses with very little heat, keeping the colour and flavour clean. A centrifugal juicer works but generates more heat and foam. A blender does not really substitute, since it leaves the fibre in and gives a thick smoothie rather than a juice.
Can I use ground turmeric and ginger instead?
Not for this. Ground spices will not juice; they sit as a gritty sediment and give a dusty flavour. Fresh rhizomes are what this recipe needs, and both are sold in most supermarkets and all African and Asian grocers. Fresh turmeric looks like a small, thin, orange fleshed ginger root.
How long does it keep?
One to two weeks refrigerated in airtight glass bottles, which is longer than most fresh juices manage. Fill the bottles to the top to limit the air, keep them cold, and expect the colour to deepen over time. If it smells fermented or fizzes when opened, discard it.
Is this a traditional African drink?
The source names no country and none is claimed here. Pineapple, ginger and turmeric are all grown and widely used across West and East Africa, and ginger drinks are common in Ghana and Nigeria, but this particular cold pressed combination is not attached to a documented tradition. It is flagged for a decision on how it should be classified.
Avis
4 avis
1/3 cup of ginger gave it a very strong kick oo, almost burned my throat at first! Next time i will reduce the ginger just a bit, but the sweetness of the local pineapple balanced the raw turmeric nicely. Very refreshing drink to break fast with in the evening.
Finding fresh turmeric root in Woolwich market was a whole stress sha, but I finally got some. The turmeric stained my juicer parts bright yellow abeg, so wash it immediately! Juice sweet no be small thing, that ginger kick really cleared my sinuses.
herh I don't have a slow juicer so I just blended the diced pineapple with the ginger and turmeric, then strained the chaff out with cheesecloth. The kick from the fresh ginger is heavy paa! Very nice drink.
chale my grandmother used to boil the pineapple peels together with ginger root on the stove instead of juicing everything raw like this. If I use a blender instead of a slow juicer, will the turmeric chaff settle at the bottom or I must strain it twice oo?