Why is orange juice or apple juice added in a smoothie?

Question

I currently have strawberries, bananas and yogurt in my fridge and this got me thinking about the Strawberry-Banana Julius from Orange Julius. Previously I've made smoothies with strawberries, bananas, yogurt, milk and a light dash of sugar.

I know most places add in some orange juice or apple juice. What does the addition of orange juice or apple juice do to the smoothie? Does it amplify the flavor of the strawberries and/or bananas?

How much would someone suggest adding if I do not want the juice flavor to overpower the smoothie?

Thank you!

Asked by SirCobalt

Answer

Apple juice will give you very little additional taste, but it will sweeten your smoothie. Especially filtered apple juice has a rather subtle flavor which is easily covered by other fruit flavors. Juice producers use this to make their juices cheaper - if a juice advertises 100% fruit, and a flavor from an expensive, non-juicy fruit like strawberries, it is usually a blend of a small amount of strawberry juice and a large amount of apple juice (this is not fraud, the ingredients are listed on the package if you care to read it). Apple juice is normally made from low-acid apples, and it tastes quite sweet, so it is useful not only for bulking, but also for sweetening blends made with sour juices like elderberry, cranberry, etc. In a smoothie, it will have the same effect as in a juice blend, plus a diluting effect, as it is less viscous than your other ingredients. It won't amplify the flavor of the smoothie, it will even reduce it, as sugar tends to suppress other flavors in general. But the reduction won't be too big, and you might find the overall result better if you are accustomed to heavily sweetened food. You can also remove the sugar if you use apple juice - I wouldn't put it there anyway, even without juice.

Orange juice is much more acidic than apple juice, and it has a stronger aroma. It will add an orange flavor to your smoothie. I would count this as an advantage, because orange flavor goes especially well with bananas and is OK with strawberries too. It will also make the smoothie taste more sour, and again dilute it. Overall, the effect will be pleasant. As for what constitutes "overpowering" the taste, I think this is subjective. You should just experiment, adding a the juice in small proportions, until you have achieved the ratio which tastes good for you.

Answered by rumtscho

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Flavor combination for yogurt smoothie. Raspberry and what?

Question

I am making a raspberry smoothie using raspberry yogurt. I am at somewhat of a loss as to what other fruit to add for a nice combination.

For example, coconut and pineapple go excellent together.

What fruits would be best to pair with raspberry?

I know this ventures into the subjective realm a bit, but I think there are some definitive pairings and some obvious wrong answers.

Asked by JYelton

Answer

Bananas are a good combination with many berries, including raspberry since they don't compete, but add a mild/sweet flavour for contrast.

Apples and berries are also a good combination, though for a smoothie, you'd probably want to use (unsweetened) applesauce, rather than raw apple.

I've seen commercial drinks that pair raspberry with orange and mango.

If you want to taste the raspberry individually, I'd avoid pairing it with other berries as the berry flavours will tend to muddle (it will be yummy, just no distinct raspberry flavour).

Answered by Allison

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How to get raspberry flavor into a smoothie without seeds?

Question

I often enjoy (when it's not dead of winter) a fruit smoothie for breakfast; generally I use orange juice or some other juice flavor (V8 has a few with fruit flavors masking veggie tastes that I sometimes use), yogurt, and fruit I've frozen myself (removes the need for ice, leading to a thicker smoothie). Typically I use strawberries and bananas; however, when I purchase smoothies, my favorite flavors involve raspberry. I've tried purchasing frozen berries and tossing some in, but the seeds irritate me to no end.

How can I get the taste of raspberries, preferably from raspberries themselves rather than extract (seems healthier), but not the seeds?

Answer

I'd stew the raspberries down with a little water (and sugar if the raspberries aren't sweet) until they're very soft, then pass the whole thing through a sieve to remove the seeds. You can then either store the result in the fridge, or pour it into an ice cube tray for easy portioning and a nice cold smoothie.

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Does it take a special type of blender to make smoothies?

Question

Or am I just doing it wrong? I have what I consider a typical blender that you might find in any American kitchen. It's a glass container with a cross shaped blade. The problem I have is that pieces often get underneath the blade and don't get blended at all. With smoothies in particular as well, if it's too thick the blade tends to spin too fast and keep everything pushed out to the sides and not actually blend. This is mostly a problem if trying to make a thick milkshake.

I have tried adding in thing like fruit while the blender is going in hopes that it wouldn't make it to the bottom without being blended but that doesn't seem to work really well. I've been reduced to blending multiple times (starting with a small amount of well blended material and slowly adding in the "chunks" from the previous attempt while the blender is running), but that is fairly time consuming.

Answer

Ahh, the complexities of blending. Have you tried pulsing the smoothie? Short bursts tend to stir up some of the stuff that sneaks below the blades.

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