Fall in Love with Fresh Carrot Juice

The first freshly cold-pressed vegetable juice I ever tried was carrot juice and I fell in love with it. It is sweet but also hearty. Creamy and filling but also light. And just so vibrant when freshly juiced. It tastes like spring would if it had a flavor.

The thing about fresh vegetable juices is that their flavors and nutrients are so perishable that you really have to make and consume them in close succession. You might see bottled juices for sale in the store or a recipe online for juicing big batches of juice and storing them. That may work in theory, but in my experience, the only way to enjoy the fresh complex burst of flavors that only carrot juice delivers is to make it fresh yourself.

Jump to:

• Why I Tried Fresh Carrot Juice in the First Place
• Ingredients
• How to Make Fresh Carrot Juice
• Carrot Juice Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Related
• Consider This

Why I Tried Fresh Carrot Juice in the First Place

Everyone thinks about food differently. People base their decisions about what to eat on different criteria. Personally, I'm a curious and adventurous type. I seek out the most colorful, the freshest, and the most delicious fruits and vegetables I can find. As you can see in the photos, carrot juice, and carrots themselves are a beautiful and vibrant orange.

I first came across freshly juiced carrot juice at a health food store next to a fitness studio I went to when I lived in Minneapolis, MN. After a workout class, a bunch of us would go there to hang out and talk. They had this commercial-grade cold-pressed juicer front and center right when you walked in. I was mesmerized by the beautiful colors of the juices it produced. There was the light green celery juice, deep red beet juice, purple juices made with red cabbage, one that looked like a tequila sunrise (without the tequila, but with pineapple, grapefruit an strawberries). And then there was the carrot juice. I loved it from the very first taste.

But here's something about carrot juice that is one of it's secrets. Carrot juice, right out of the juicer is creamy! It's such a unique, beautiful, rich, satisfying and unexpected dynamo of juice. Even if you're not curious about food, you should really try it because it's flavor is so unexpectedly more delicious than raw carrots.

Ingredients

Making carrot juice may seem daunting, but honestly, how can you go wrong when there's only one ingredient in the recipe?

• Fresh carrots are the only ingredient you'll need. You'll need many many carrots. The fresher the carrots, the more vibrant the juice.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Fresh Carrot Juice

1. Peel the carrots. A lot of carrots.
2. Cut the carrots into 1-2" pieces
3. Add carrot pieces to the juicer. Fill the hopper of the juicer to the top.
4. Start juicing!
5. Add more carrots to the juicer as you go to make the volume of juice you want.
6. Enjoy!

Carrot Juice Variations

Carrots serve as a perfect base to which you can add:

• Beets. Adding just a half of a medium sized beet to the juicer will yield a hearty earthiness to the juice. I find juices with beets really fill me up.
• Cucumbers. Cucumbers add a lightness and freshness to any juice.
• Pineapple and ginger. Carrot, pineapple and ginger juice is a warm, sweet, creamy drink you'll want to have every day. A classic.
• Apples. Apples add a sweet lightness to the carrots. It's the perfect combo.

When you want the freshest, most perfect-to-juice carrots, buy them at the farmers market like these. So many carrots to discover and to taste!

Equipment

You'll need a juicer. The juicer I use is the Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer. I've had other juicers over the years, but the Nama J2 has really led in innovations that make juicing easier and healthier. Here's why I use this particular juicer:

1. Less prep. You don't need to spend much time prepping your fruits and veggies. The hopper is so big that you can put most in whole or at least in large pieces.
2. Hands-free. Once you start juicing, you can walk away and just let the juicer run without watching over it.
3. Easier to clean. The juicer still has several pieces, but once you get to know how everthing works, it takes just minutes to clean after you juice.
4. More juice. During juicing, the Nama separates the juice from the fiber of the plants and places it into a separate receptacle. The pulp is super dry, which means that it has extracted as much juice as possible, which means more juice from each plant.
5. Good quality. I've had my juicer for several years and it's still juicing like a champ. I do take good care of it, though!

You'll also need a few other items:

1. Chef's Knife: While you don't need to prep your fruits and veggies, much, if you really want to eat all or any of the colors offered by the bounty of fruits and vegetables, you'll be served well with a good quality knife. I use this heavier German knife by Wustoff to cut carrots because they need a heavier hand, but I use a lighter Japanese style chef's knife from Shun for more delicate tasks.
2. Cutting board: You'll want to protect your knives by buying a cutting board. There boards at all price points so there's no reason not to get one. Here's a wood board I like which is made of cherry, one of the heartier woods. It should last forever if you take care of it. And here's a plastic option I own and use.
3. Produce bags: Buy produce bags to store your carrots and other veggies in the refrigerator. This way, while the produce continues to expirate, it stays fresh because moisture doesn't build up and get trapped on it as it does inside a plastic bag. Plus, Lotus premium mesh produce bags keep your refrigerator clean and are re-usable too!

Storage

As I noted above, carrot juice is best enjoyed immediately after it's juiced.

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Consider This

Explore additional articles and recipes on the site to continue your colorful journey: