Summertime~ Strawberry & Kiwi Juice

Here we have:
20 strawberries, washed and stemmed
1 kiwi, peeled (I should have used 2)!
2 carrots
2 apples

Pure, unadulterated Summertime goodness!

It was also a test.  Although our new Omega 8006 juicer has stellar reviews for juicing greens and overall juice extraction, its one shortcoming might be the way it handles "soft" fruits.  Now, when I say soft fruits, I mean fleshier, juicier fruit such as pineapples, mangoes, kiwis and berries.  The Omega 8006 juices them fairly well, but the fact that reviews state that it *may* not perform as well on these foods did not deter me from trying.

Part of it is mechanics:

You see in the foreground of the picture, the driving force behind our juicer: the augur (directly to the left of the toothbrush).  This device spins at 80 RPMs, (much slower as compared with the centrifuge of the Jack Lalanne variety) and meticulously grinds and chews vegetables and dark leafy greens into a smooth trickle of vitamin packed goodness.  The pulp that comes out the front is dry as a bone, which is proof that this style of juicer really gives great results, and maximum juice extraction of your produce.

Now when a fruit is soft like a pineapple, mango or strawberry, the augur slowly spins it down towards the front end of the juice, and pulverizes it.  Because these fruits do not have as much fibrous matter like say celery or carrot, the juice of the fruit mixes with the pulp, gets a wee bit foamy, covers up the juicing screen, and doesn't always push its way out the front.  I've found that if I want to do a luscious summer fruit medley like the one above, the best way is to alternate the soft fruits with a bit of hard veggies or fruits (like carrots and apples) to help push some of that fruit foam out.

This technique worked pretty well, with minimal foaminess. There was still some, but not nearly as much as when I tried to do 10 pieces of pineapple in a row. Plus, you can never go wrong with fresh strawberry or kiwi.  I probably could have done the fruit in my blender, then added the apple and carrot juice, but I am enjoying my new toy too much not to use if for everything ^_^