Juice up your menu this this summer
The United Kingdom is in the midst of a juice boom.
“Juice is no longer the one-drink-fits-all health solution that it used to be,” one wellness commentator states. Indeed, the demand for juice – along with smoothies – has exploded in recent years and has become big business for cafes, bars, fitness centres and the likes.
There’s more to juice than apples, oranges and mango.
Whether it’s freshly squeezed citrus juices or the in vogue green vegetable juice that is beginning to populate our shores since arriving from our American cousins, juice is one of the hot trends that businesses should be cashing in on. And with summer approaching and the sun just starting to peak out from behind those wintry clouds, this thriving sector of the beverage market is sure to see a spike in sales. It is time, if you’ll excuse the pun, to juice up your menu.
Freshly squeezed juice options will always be a perennial favourite, a drinks option that is never out of place no matter the location. From formal functions through to beach side bars in summer, a glass of fresh orange juice will never go out of fashion. In the beverage world, orange is the new black.
However, as noted in the introduction, there is a popular new trend that has got the foodie community in a buzz: Green vegetable juices and smoothies.
After a brief foray into our conscious in 2013, many well-positioned people have predicted that these healthy drinks will take over the high street and take a prized position on menus this summer.
Built around ‘superfoods’ such as kale and spinach, these options are a quick and easy way to load up on vital vitamins, antioxidants and minerals that our bodies need to be in tip top condition.
But in order to tap into this rapidly expanding market, you’ll need to make sure you have the equipment to go alongside your array of fruits and vegetables.
Juice Extractors
From breakfast bars to coffee shops, restaurants to sports centres, a simple juice extractor will provide an attractive focal point for the health conscious consumer.
If you require a machine with a small footprint for low volume use, then the Zumex Minex Juicer is without a doubt the model to opt for. Perfectly proportioned to take up a minimal amount of counter space, the Minex Juicer is capable of serving up a glass of orange juice within seconds.
At the other end of Zumex’s spectrum is the universally popular Versatile Juice Extractor. This high-capacity model can be easily switched between self-serve and professional modes, enabling it to suit a wide range of environments and it’s all controlled via an easy to use digital ‘Touch Control’ display area.
Blenders
As simple as it sounds, blenders blend things to create sumptuous smoothies, opening up your menus to exciting new flavourful combinations and allowing customers and staff members alike to get extremely creative!
Blendtec harnessed the creativity that goes hand in hand with smoothie making when they began to release regular videos promoting just how powerful, reliable and efficient their blenders are. They quickly went viral and soon the world knew what we did: Blendtec make the best blenders around.
Take a look at the Xpress Blender, for example, which mixes together performance and power. It’s fitted with numerous useful, operator friendly features such as waterproof Smart-Touch operating panel and a range of pre-programmed settings. With just 204mm wide, it’s a perfect fit for all spaces too – no matter the size.
But if you need a heavy duty appliance to withstand the rigours of a busy day of trading and blending, then you should look no further than the Blendtec Q Series. This newly redesigned model now incorporates an improved sound guard and cooling capacities and a reworked airflow system. Together, these combine to reduce operating noise by 10 db.
There are also thirty presets, space for you to create your own blending cycles and solid state electronics. It can even be mounted in-counter.
Recipes
If like us you crave an early morning pick me up, then this smoothie will give you the boost you need.
- One (big) handful of spinach
- 1 banana
- 50g frozen raspberries
- 2 tablespoons of goji berries
- 300ml coconut water
This is a tried and tested classic. Despite there being an abundance of kale here, the addition of banana and apple juice creates a really fruity smoothie
- 1 handful of kale
- 1 small stalk of (chopped) celery
- ½ banana
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 250ml ice
- 250ml fresh apple juice