Homemade Recipes: Can You Juice Frozen Fruit Without First Defrosting/ Thawing?

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It’s obvious many people make fresh fruit/ vegetable juice during the summer when fresh produce is in abundance. But what if you crave a refreshment drink in winter or any other time you don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables? Should you go back to buying processed juice? Or can you juice frozen fruits and still come out fine?

Well, in truth, you can make a pleasurable juice from frozen vegetables or fruits. However, there are a few tips you should consider to get the most out of your produce and machine.

Frozen vs Fresh Foods: The Unending Health Debate

Which type of food do you reach out for when at the grocery store or supermarket?

When on either the fruity or veggie aisle, many of us always go for the seemingly fresh produce. It’s a common assumption they are more nutritious and better tasting. But that line is mostly true on the taste part.

In the nutrition part, frozen fruits and vegetables are as healthy as fresh produce. In some cases, the frozen produce will even pack more nutrients- especially since it was picked at peak ripeness (when most nutritious), then frozen and packed within a few hours.

On the other hand, the fruits and vegetables that we’re buying fresh are often picked before they’re fully ripe. The distributors do this so that by the time the product reaches the market (within 1-3 days), it’s fully ripe and whole to eat.

How to Juice Frozen Fruit in a Blender

However, vegetables and fruits usually start to lose some of the vitamins and antioxidants immediately after harvesting from the continued ripening. They also start to lose moisture, which causes a greater risk of spoiling. Thus, it’s best to consume fresh vegetables and fruits as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, freezing the fruits and vegetables helps retain most of the nutrient present. I’ve used the word “most” as some nutrients still break down when preparing certain frozen food or when stored for a long time.

Key Takeaway:

Fruits and vegetables freshly picked from your home garden or the production farm are certainly of the highest quality. But when shopping at the supermarket, the frozen vegetables and fruits will be either equal to or more nutritious than the fresh varieties.

If you want to get the best nutrient level (and taste) with the produce from the supermarket, it’s a great idea to mix both fresh and frozen varieties.

Can You Juice Frozen Fruit Without First Defrosting/ Thawing?

A quick answer, YES, you can juice frozen fruit if you have the proper equipment and preparation know-how.

For instance, with the best Vitamix for juicing, you can add frozen foods into the jar while still solid. Some of the cheap blenders for smoothies will work as well. But in either case, the resultant puree will be pretty thick since food gets denser when in the frozen state. Thus, the final drink after filtering won’t be as much as when you defrost your frozen fruits first.

Thawing helps restore the original texture of the fruits or vegetables, which usually gives a lighter drink when processed. And since the produce will be softer, the process will also be easier on your blender.

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If the idea was to extract juice from the frozen fruit with a dedicated juicer, thawing is much, much more crucial. Remember, the machine can only work with solid produce- no way to add liquids, anyways.

Of course, a masticating juicer could be able to pulverize your unthawed frozen fruits. But you’ll end up creating a smoothie-like juice or a sugar-free fruit sorbet. And since the drink is denser from its icy nature, you’ll have to consume it soon before melting and watering it down.

In the meantime, a centrifugal juicer usually extracts juice by chopping the food with razor-sharp blades at a high speed. If you happen to add the unthawed frozen fruits into the machine, you’ll just hear the frozen chunks beating inside the processing bowl.

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In a powerful centrifugal juicer, you might be able to collect a few drops of the juice. But in an inferior machine, it will be impossible to produce any juice. Then you also risk damaging the chopping blade of the juicer.

How to Juice Frozen Fruit in a Blender

In a nutshell, a blender is the best tool to make juice with frozen fruit. Not just because it’s the most accessible appliance for many of us. But also because you could work with either thawed or unthawed frozen fruits, which can be handy when you have limited time.

Part 1: How to Juice Unthawed Frozen Fruit

In this recipe, we’re going to juice frozen fruit in a blender before thawing. You can proceed with the method for a more refreshing drink to survive a hot summer or when you don’t have 15 minutes to defrost.

Our reference recipe is for a berry juice, and it calls for:

  • 2.5 cups of water
  • 3 handfuls of fresh kale or spinach
  • 3 cups frozen mixed berries

What to Do:

  1. Pick your blender from the storage and prepare it for blending
  2. Gather all the needed ingredients and prep them too (clean the greens & chop if necessary)
  3. In the clean blender jar, add the water, kale or spinach, and berries. Then secure the lid
  4. Turn on the blender and blend the mixture on high until smooth
  5. Now, pour your puree through a fine-mesh strainer or nut milk bag to filter the insoluble pulp
  6. Finally, pour your fresh homemade berry juice into the glasses and serve while still chilled

Part 2: How to juice Thawed Frozen Fruit

If you’re making your juice with either of those basic blenders under $50, you must thaw the frozen fruits before blending. The same goes if you’d like to make a lighter puree that you can shift a bit more of the juice.

We’re going to use the above berry juice recipe for reference too. But since all the produce will be softer after thawing, we’ll reduce the amount of water not to have a super-thin juice.

So, the Berry Juice recipe will now have the ingredients as follows:

  • 1 cup of water (or omit it completely)
  • 3 handfuls of fresh kale or spinach
  • 3 cups frozen mixed berries

What to Do:

  1. Pick your blender from the storage and prepare it for blending
  2. Gather all the needed ingredients and prep the greens (clean and chop if necessary)
  3. Partially thaw the frozen berries to soften them enough for smooth juicing
  4. In the clean blender jar, add the ingredients and secure the lid
  5. Turn on the blender and blend on high until the mixture is super-smooth
  6. Now, filter the blended puree through a fine-mesh strainer or nut milk bag
  7. Finally, pour your fresh homemade berry juice into the glasses and serve

Note:

You can juice frozen fruit in a masticating or centrifugal juicer after thawing. You just need to turn on your juicer and drop the produce (without water) through the chute one at a time.

Don’t Defrost in the Microwave!

In my option, freshly picked fruits and vegetables are the best for juicing. But you can juice frozen fruit too yet still have a pleasurable and nutritious drink.

If you plan on using a juicer for the task, let your frozen fruits or vegetables sit at room temperature to defrost. 15 minutes are pretty enough for most produce to thaw into a texture usable even in the machine.

If the ingredients won’t have softened enough by the fifteen minutes, let it rest a little longer. Don’t be tempted to microwave them as this will only create hot spots that aren’t pleasurable to taste.

As for tool recommendation, Vitamix is usually the best for juicing, thanks to its glossy and silky blends. You could also use the Blendtec Classic 575 or Total Blender with a blunt blade, albeit the blend won’t be as smooth as Vitamix.

Budget blenders like Oster and Ninja are also usually able to pulverize frozen foods even before thawing. But after shifting, they often have a little more pulp, which simply means lesser juice extracted.