Making carrot and green apple juice

Prepare a small quantity

Start with washed carrot and green apple in a ratio you enjoy; about two carrots to one apple is a practical starting point. Follow your juicer’s instructions for trimming and coring. The yield varies with produce size and the machine.

Add a little ginger or a squeeze of lemon if you like. There is no need for syrup or added sugar. You can dilute the flavour with water; it does not remove the sugar already in the juice.

Serve a small glass with a meal. The NHS recommends a combined limit of 150 ml a day for fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies. Do not treat a large batch as one person’s serving.

How does a juicer differ from a blender?

A juicer separates much of the pulp from the liquid. A blender retains more of the original food, including its fibre, unless you strain it afterwards. Choose the texture you prefer without assuming that removing fibre makes a drink healthier.

Whole fruit and vegetables remain useful everyday choices. You do not need a separate fibre supplement to make juice “work”, and one does not replace all the features of the original food.

Can I use other fruit?

You can use other fruit and vegetables according to taste and dietary needs. Green apples are not sugar-free, and “cooling” classifications do not establish a food’s nutritional suitability.

You can also use red apples, oranges and mango, with portion size and your overall diet in mind. Follow any food warnings for your medicines; grapefruit, for example, can interact with some medicines.

Buy, prepare and store safely

Buy a quantity you can use while it is fresh, keep produce as recommended, and wash it before preparation. Clean the juicer as soon as you finish, including parts where pulp collects.

Fresh juice is not sterile. Keep it chilled if you do not drink it straight away, and follow food-safety guidance. People at greater risk from foodborne illness should choose pasteurised or treated juice rather than assuming fresh unpasteurised juice is safer.