Print Recipe

Phantasmagoric Orange Juice

Prep Time7 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Refrigerate10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 3 medium size Valencia Oranges
• 4 medium size Cara Cara Oranges
• 4 medium size Blood Oranges

Instructions

• Cut the oranges and expel the superficial seeds from the pulp.
  
• Use your favorite juicer and squeeze the oranges into a wide-brimmed carafe.
• Refrigerate juice until ready to serve. Pours about 4 glasses (6-8 oz. each).

Notes

Oranges are rich in Vitamin C. Their rinds can be used to zest desserts and pies, and can be used like lemon in Mediterranean dishes.

It is preferable to eat fruits as they are, juicing increases the glycemic index and raises blood glucose faster than when eating the fruit whole. Also incorporating the fiber content in whole fruits is healthier alternative to drinking juices--all in moderation!

There are still a few luxuries in the world made at home. Although, some may have a few barriers to finding oranges, depending on where one lives.

My fond memory of freshly squeezed orange juice came at an oasis on a hot summer day in Jericho, Israel. My family had embarked on a religious pilgrimage to visit the holy sites across Israel. After a spa and lunch at the Dead Sea, our next stop was into Jericho, on our way back to Jerusalem.

As a child, I could only imagine the scene of the tumbling walls of the city when we entered the inner city limits. The palmate fronds and date trees framed the blue skies above. The smell of grilling along the restaurants that lined the busy, touristy streets was sure to entice every hungry nomad like us.

One place stood out from the rest–it was the juicery across the street. The storefront beckoned us with its colorful tessellation of oranges, mangoes, and papaya–neatly creating a vibrant orange and yellow wall. Alongside were various baskets of nuts like almonds and pistachios; above them were the honey-colored dates still ripening on their stalks.

Behind this cornucopia, a man busily juices the oranges as each tourist picked their preferred fruit juice from the menu. At our turn, I  point to the picture of the glass of orange juice on the wall. The juicer, with great ease and skill, extracted the ample nectar from the orange pulp, streaming it into the cold glass below. The orange rinds collected in a heaping basket behind him.

Upon, my first sip–the sweetness and slight tang vied for attention on my taste buds.  The bright citrus flavor lingered on as I gulped for another sip–a satisfying thirst quencher and not a mirage.