Really Good Fruit SmoothiesFor a smoothie with knock-your-socks-off flavor, replace the usual yogurt with milk,

add juice for freshness, and then fill the blender with a lot of fruit.

"BY JULIA COLLIN"

".:-:,

tasters, too, preferred smoothies made with botl1milk and juice, Prepared this way, the fruit fla\'owere cleaner, brighter, and more potent. By com­parison, the juiceless batch tasted mellow and, forlack ofa better '.\Tord, milky, I tested apple, orange,grape, white grape, cranberry, and white cran­berry juice as weli as fruit punch, The mild, eas\'flavor of apple juice came in second place to theunanimous winner, white cranberry juice, Withan elegantly perfiJmed flavor, the white cranberryjuice added complexity and nuance that enhancedthe flavor of tile fruit rather than overwhelming it(see "Colorless Cranberry Juice," below), Redcranberry juice was just too potent and tart.orange juice tasted bitter and aciclic, and the grapejuices and fruit punch made the smoothie tastelike candy I played wim the ratio of milk to juiceand found that a 50/50 blend was optimal.

Sweeteners and FlavoringsThroughout the testing, it had become ob\'iousthat sugar was necessary to boost the fruit fla\'or.I tested other sweeteners, such as honey, maplesvrup, and brown sugar, but their earthinessmuted me flavor of the fruit, Lemon juice, onthe other hand, helped define the flavor of thefruit, making the smoomie taste clean and crisp,Owing to the variety and ripeness of each huit.it was impossible to measure the sugar anllemon juice in exact amounts beyond a rang,<: a ­2 to 6 teaspoons, Out of curiosity, I tried adding:vanilla extract, but tasters gagged on it, A simplepinch of salt, on the other hand, helped brin=­out the flavor of even the blandest berries,

Next I tried adding a banana to the mix, Mostrecipes add banana for flavor and sweetness d5

How does Ocean Spray m1ke its white cranbenyjuice white) The company uses immature, blondberries harvested a few weeks early. Becausethey haven' been on the vine as long as theirolder, red siblin s, they haven't had the chanceto develop the deep crimson color or a full flavorprofile, When compared with the classic cran­berry cocktail. WIJlte cranberry juice (which ismixed with white grape juice concentrate) hasalmost no tll1t and a sweet, perfumed, easygoingflavor which we liked both straight up and inour smoothies, -J,c.

difficult to make weli, After giving someinitial recipes a whirl, I found their tex­tures ranged from that of a 7-ElevenSlurpee to something like mili< of mag­nesia, and none offered much fruit flavor.The problem with these smoothies wasnot wim how they were made but withwhat they were made of. Besides fruitand ice, the ingredients included a \viderange of filJers and flavorings, from theobvious yogurt to the more obscure tofuand instant lemonade mix, To helporganize a list of ingredients for furthertesting, I categorized all reasonablepossibilities into four groups: dairv andliquids, sweeteners and flavorings, fruit,and ice, I also decided it would be easiestto develop the recipe using strawberries(their texture is neither too waten' nortoo fibrous) before trying other fruits,

Back to BasicsA basic smoothie is a blend of fruit, ice,and some sort of dairy. Without dair \',the fruit and ice make something akinto a slushy. Using a big handful ofstrawberries and several cubes of ice, Itested a range of dairy-aisle possibilities,including yogurt, milk, half-and-half,cream, tofu, buttermilk, and soy milk, Iwas slightly surprised when whole milkwon the tasting, Everyone in the testkitchen liked its clean, mellow flavor; itadded just enough fat and protein to keep

the smoothie from becoming a slushy, Althoughyogurt is the most common dairy component,tasters found its sour tang over­whelmed the more delicate Colorless Cranberry Juiceflavor of the fruit. Among theother contestants, buttermilkwas too tart, half-and-half andheavy cream too rich, and soymilk and tofu just too strange inboth flavor and texture, I triedreplacing the whole milk withskim milk and 2 percent milkbut found the reduced fat con­tent left these smoothies wateryand hollow tasting,

To keep tile dairy in check,most recipes also add juice, My

For the best flavor, use 3'12 cups of fruit for every cup of liquidand chill the fruit to reduce the amount of ice needed.

Blurring the line between health food andjunk food, smoothies are everywhere,from convenience stores to donut shopsand drive-thrus, But these expensive,

generically flavored, candy-sweet concoctions arefar removed from me smoothies of 20 years ago,OriginalJy made wim ingreclients like flaxseed, oatbran, and soy protein powder, early smoothieswere holistic healthshakes spruced up with a hand­ful of berries and a little ice, Yet a good idea lurkssomewhere between these junk food and healtllfood extremes-a smoothie that is icy, fruity,slightly sweet, lightly creamy, and thick but straw­friendly, A good smoothie should be satisfying andrejuvenating without tasting like a sweet milk­shake or a fruity glass of Metamucil.

Although smoothies are easy to make, they are

20

We found that 3 '12 cups of prepared fruit are needed to make four

smoothies. Here's how to shop for fruit so that once you remove

any hulls. skins. seeds. pits. or cores you'll have the right amount.

How Much Fruit Do I Need?

\\'ell as its creamy, mouth-coating texture. vVith

the banana included, tasters admitted that mv

blended fruit drink had fmally turned the cornerand become an honest to-goodness smoothic.

The FruitWanting the smoothie to have a strong fruit thmr,

I made several batches, increasing the amount of

ti'uit per cup of smoothie base (milk, juice, sugar,

lemon juice, and salt). Although most recipes caU

for 1 cup oHruit for every cup of base, I ended up

BERRY SMOOTHIES

Vary the amounts of sugar and lemon juice

depending on the ripeness of the fruit.

The Big ChillTo cool off the smoothie, I began a llng :..:e ~o

the blender. Three cubes \\'erc the lin it: all\" JT.o~~

icc made the mixture taste \\atcn'. Bll[ r:

smoothi<.: was not cold enough ror lOSt" t :>

Frozen bananas cooled things off ni..:eh·. _uc :'.t;

took a long time to freeze through- 00 lo~=. i.:­you wanted to make a spur-of-the-:'! O:ll __ :

smoothie. A good aJternati\c \\as to chill aU 0:- L'-:

fruit (including the bananai b\ I'j\'ing i 0 ton

baking sheet and freezing it for 10 minutes. Thesepartially frozen pieces of fruit easik blended i ~o

a frosty and rejuvenating drink. This \':a" nosugary shake or fibrous frappe-this \\'as a reaUy

good fruit smoothie.

medium ripe banana (about 4 ounces), peeled

and cut crosswise into eight pieces3'12 cups berries (about 16 ounces)

'/1 cup whole milk

'12 cup white cranberry or apple juice

Pinch salt3-6 teaspoons sugar

2-3 teaspoons lemon juice

3 ice cubes (about 1'12 ounces total)

MAKES 4 '/' cups, ENOUGH FOR 4 SERV'NGS

adding 3V2 cups of strawberries per

cup of base. (Beyond 3V2 cups, the

mixture turned fibrous and mealy.)

This unbelievably high ratio not only

drove home the fruit flavor but also

helped bulk up the consistency.

Most commercial smoothies use

second-rate fruit and try to make

up for it with excessive dairy and

funky flavorings. It is this elemen­

tary. discovery that draws the dis­tinction between a great smoothie

and a bland wannabe (perhaps an

obvious observation-ripe fruit

made great smoothies, unripe fruit

made bland ones) .

Having developed the recipe

using strawberries, it was time to test

other fruits. I was aware that watery

fruits, such as watermelon, and thick

fruits, such as mangoes, might require variations

in the ratio of fruit to liquid, so I organized the

fruit into three categories: berries, melons, andtropical fi-uits. All types ofberries blended into the

recipe with ease, but melons did best with a little

less liquid. Thick tropical fruits, such as pineapple

and mango, required a bit more. Although Ifound that frozen fruit does work when fresh, ripe

fruit is unavailable, the smoothie won't taste as

fresh. I got best results when allowing the fruit to

defrost fully in the refrigerator.

16 ounces

I small melon .(2 112 pounds)

'12 large lllelon(2112 pounds).

2 large mangoes (.1'/4 pounds each)

2 small papayas (1'/4 pounds each) .

How Much to Buy

..'/2 large pineapple (3 pounds)

2-pound piece

PAPAYA

HONEYDEW

CANTALOUPE

PINEAPPLE

MANGO

BERRIES

Fruit

WATERMELON

-:- EST IN G E QUI PM E NT. The King of BlendersIf you've ever ordered a smoothie at a juice bar or coffee house, it

was probably made in a Vita-Mix. With a powerful motor and a price

tag of about $400, the Vita-Mix is both the ultimate blender and

the trophy appliance in any well-equipped kitchen. But how does

this souped-up blender compare with the $40 Osterizer, which

won our blender testing (see the May/June 2000 issue)? I set up astrenuous course of blending exercises to see just what this machine

could do.The Vita-Mix quickly ground 4 cups of roasted peanuts into 2 cups

of smooth peanut butter, while the Osterizer choked, its overworked

motor spewing out fumes, and produced only finely chopped peanuts.

With the Vita-Mix, I was able to blend I pound whole frozen straw­

berries along with 2 cups ice, '12 cup sugar, and I cup half-and-half

into soft-serve ice cream. The blades of the Osterizer simply got stuckand refused to cut anything. Both machines were able to produce fine

crumbs from several slices of bread, but only the 249-mile-per-hour

blade tips of the Vita-Mix could produce hot fondue from cold ingre­

dients in a mere four minutes.

A powerful 2-horsepower motor is behind the Vita-Mix's

superior capabilities. To put its brawn into perspective, consider

that an average food processor runs at I horsepower, a chainsaw at

3 to 4 horsepower, and a push lawn mower at 4 to 6 horsepower.Running at 0.60 horsepower, the Osterizer simply didn't have

enough power to compete in the tough tests I had designed. But,then again, the Osterizer costs a tenth of what the Vita-Mix costs,

and it works just fine when making smoothies and handling other

tasks you expect of a (mere mortal) blender. -J.c.

The Vita-Mix has more than three

times the horsepower of a standardkitchen blender, but it doesn't make

a better smoothie.

Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper;

arrange banana and berries in single layer on

baking sheet. Freeze fruit until very cold, but not

frozen, abollt 10 minutes. In blender, puree cold

fruit, milk, juice, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tea­spoon lemon juice, and ice until uniformlv

smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Taste for sugar and

lemon; if desired, add more sugar or lemon and

blend until combined, about 2 seconds longer.

Serve immediately.

MELON SMOOTHIES

Make sure the melon is absolutely ripe, if not

overripe. Underripe melon yields bland smoothies

that taste, if anything, like cardboard,

Follow recipe for Berry Smoothies, replacing

berries with equal amount of peeled, seeded,

and cubed watermelon, cantaloupe, or honey­

dew (1- to 2-inch pieces are fine) and reducing

amounts of milk and juice to 113 rup each.

TROPICAL FRUIT SMOOTHIES

Follow recipe for Berry Smoothies, replacing

berries with equal amount of peeled, cored or

seeded, and diced pineapple, papaya, or mango

(1- to 2-inch pieces) and increasing amounts of

milk~and juice to 213 cup each.

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