Pumpkin juice has many health benefits, as it allows you to fully receive the nutrients contained in the vegetable. Let's take a closer look at why regular intake of pumpkin juice is so useful. In addition, you will learn about the original recipes of this drink with the addition of various ingredients.

Properties of Pumpkin Juice

As in the fruits themselves, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin C, calciferol, tocopherol, beta-carotene, various minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and some vital salts are present in pumpkin pulp juice. Due to the many medicinal properties, nutritionists recommend consuming 100 ml of pumpkin juice every day.

Benefit

• Valuable features of pumpkin drink:
• Useful for the kidneys and urinary system, helps the proper functioning of these organs. Patients suffering from kidney stones and gall bladder problems can improve their condition by drinking half a glass of juice 3 times a day for 10 days.
• Prevents Atherosclerosis. The drink is an excellent cleanser that helps reduce the amount of fat deposits on the walls of blood vessels, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. High antioxidant levels help prevent atherosclerosis.
• Minimizes the risk of high blood pressure. Pectin is present in natural juice, a substance that lowers cholesterol.
• Promotes the proper functioning of the digestive tract and treats constipation.
• Due to good sedative qualities effective in treating insomnia. It is recommended that those suffering from this problem take 200 ml of natural pumpkin juice with honey before going to bed.
• Able to relieve the feeling of nausea in the morning in pregnant women.
• People suffering from viral hepatitis A can benefit from drinking the drink in question by incorporating it into their regular diet. Biologically active substances present in the drink, help restore liver function.
• Boosts immunity. Ascorbic acid and other organic compounds present in the juice work as immune boosters and thus protect the body from various diseases.
• Useful for epidermis.because it is an excellent source of alpha-tocopherol, ascorbic acid and beta-carotene, which support the health and beauty of the skin.
• A large amount of antioxidants in the form of vitamins A, C and E, as well as zinc make this orange drink great an aid in the treatment of burns, abscesses, bites and inflammations on the body. Its regular use eases the condition and speeds up the healing process.
• It is impossible not to recall the benefits of pumpkin juice for hair. Retinol, found in a natural treat, is extremely beneficial for the scalp. Moreover, the drink is rich in potassium - a mineral that helps to accelerate hair growth and restore their health. In addition, the product is effective in treating hair loss.

Contraindications

• Despite the obvious advantages of this drink for the body, there are contraindications to its use:
• peptic ulcer;
• acute manifestations of gastritis;
• decreased acidity of the stomach;
• chronic diarrhea;
• problems with urination;
• severe diabetes;
• individual intolerance to the product.

In any case, with rare and moderate use, a pumpkin drink should not cause side effects or undesirable reactions. However, regular or excessive admission in the presence of one of the listed diseases will only aggravate the situation.

How to choose and prepare a pumpkin

Before you start making pumpkin juice, make sure that the fruit is sweet and suitable for use in food. Choose medium or small size, as their flesh is less fibrous. Skip fruits with dents or moldy areas, as well as cuts and punctures. Pat the pumpkin - the sound should be deaf. A ripe vegetable has a dried tail. The pulp should have a uniform bright color (orange or yellow) and be hard.

The preparatory phase consists of the following steps:

1. The fruit is thoroughly washed outside.
2. Using a long knife, the pumpkin is cut in half, then each half is further divided into several parts.
3. A large spoon removes loose entrails and seeds.
4. With a small convenient knife, the pumpkin slices are peeled, leaving only the subcutaneous part.
5. The pulp is cut into pieces - quite small in order to fit in the kitchen equipment (juicer, blender or meat grinder).

Important! The most delicious drink is obtained from the Bulava variety, as well as from the nutmeg varieties. These varieties are more juicy and sweet, they have a lot of sugar.

How to make pumpkin juice at home: step by step cooking

It is impossible to store a vitamin vegetable for a long time, it loses its valuable characteristics over time. So that the crop does not deteriorate, some of the vegetables can be processed into juice. The drink can be brewed both manually and with the help of kitchen appliances.

Manual way

To brew homemade juice manually, you need to stock up on the following ingredients:

• pumpkin fruits;
• water;
• sugar (about 800 g per 10 l of fresh juice);
• citric acid (about 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of finished juice).

Cooking Technique:

1. The pulp is arbitrarily chopped and placed in a large stewpan. Fill with water and rinse thoroughly. We drain the water and repeat the manipulation again.
2. Pour pumpkin slices with distilled water and put on gas.
3. After boiling, leave on the stove for another 30–40 minutes until fully cooked.
4. Turn off the gas and allow the contents of the stewpan to cool slightly.
5. Using a potato pusher, wipe the entire mass through a colander.
6. Focusing on the density of the juice, pour boiled water and return to the stove again.
7. Pour sugar, then citric acid and wait for boiling.
8. The drink is ready.

Video: How to make pumpkin juice manually

In a juicer

To prepare a clean (that is, without additives) pumpkin drink using a juicer, you only need the pulp of the vegetable and the kitchen equipment itself.

Stages of preparation:

1. Prepared pieces of pulp are placed in a kitchen appliance and squeezed juice from them.
2. Pour the liquid into the saucepan and put on medium heat.
3. We are waiting for the moment when the drink begins to boil. Reduce the heat to a minimum and warm up for another 5 minutes.

You can drink the juice right away. Or you can close it for the winter - pour into sterilized cans and roll it up.

Sugar and other ingredients are not needed in this recipe. Already at the time of consumption, if desired, you can sweeten your portion with a spoon of liquid honey. And to get a cooling and refreshing effect, add an ice cube.

Video: Preparing pumpkin juice for the winter using a juicer

To make juice in a blender, take:

• 300 g pumpkin;
• 1 tbsp. water;
• juice of one lemon;
• 1 small spoonful of honey.

Cooking process:

1. We chop the raw vegetable into slices, place in a stewpan and pour 200 ml of water. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes, until the pieces are soft.
2. Remove from heat. The cooled vegetable, along with the remaining liquid, is transferred to the blender bowl and processed to a puree consistency.
3. Pour in lemon juice and taste.
4. Then add a little honey and beat the mixture again until smooth.
5. Pass the composition through a sieve.
6. The drink is ready.

Through a meat grinder

If you don’t have a juicer or a juicer at home, but you don’t want to use a sieve, an ordinary meat grinder will come to the rescue. In addition to the pulp of pumpkin, sugar and citric acid are useful.

The cooking process is quite simple:

1. Pass slices of pumpkin through a meat grinder.
2. The resulting mass is transferred to a double layer of clean gauze and squeeze the juice.
3. Add sweetener and citric acid to taste. We boil the composition at a temperature of +90 ° C for about 5-10 minutes.
4. The orange drink is ready.

In a juice cooker

Components:

• pumpkin - 1 kg;
• granulated sugar - 50-150 g;
• juice of 1 or 2 lemons.

Cooking method:

1. We chop the raw pulp of pumpkin into small pieces, add the sweetener and lemon juice (you can do without these ingredients).
2. We put the slices in a juice cooker and cook for about 45-60 minutes.
3. The vitamin delicacy is ready, it remains only to cool.

What else can you make pumpkin juice

Pumpkin juice is a versatile drink that can be used in a number of recipes. Here are some of them.

With apples

By mixing apple and pumpkin juices, you get a tasty and nutritious drink. Pumpkin in this case is steamed. Slices of the vegetable can also be placed on a greased parchment sheet and baked at a temperature of +180 ° C for 30-40 minutes until soft. Turn the cooled pulp into mashed potatoes, then transfer the whole mass to a sieve or cheesecloth and squeeze the juice. Or just pour pumpkin slices with water and cook for 40–45 minutes.

Apple nectar is best done on your own with a juicer. In the absence of a kitchen appliance, use store juice. After connecting the two components, warm the resulting liquid properly.

If desired, you can add 1-2 tbsp. honey and mix thoroughly. Adjust the amount of honey to achieve sufficient sweetness for your taste.

This drink is nicer to drink cold. To do this, keep it for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator or add a few ice cubes.

With orange

In this embodiment, the water should completely cover the pumpkin during cooking. You can use freshly squeezed pumpkin juice without subjecting it to heat treatment. As for orange juice, it is also better to squeeze it out on your own - both taste and texture suffer from the purchase. A natural drink is sweet and sour and very refreshing.

With dried apricots

We bring to your attention another interesting mix of products that will appeal to fans of dried apricot. Take pumpkin pulp (650 g), dried apricots (100 g), sugar and lemon juice to taste. Add dried apricots to the pumpkin slices and send everything to the pan. Pour in water - it should completely cover the food. Cook to a mild state of both ingredients (approximately 40 minutes). Using a submersible blender, turn everything into a puree mass, pour sugar. Then pour in lemon juice and about a liter of water. Boil for 10 minutes.

Did you know? Since ancient times in Ukraine, pumpkin was part of the matchmaking - the orange fruit was given to unenviable grooms.

With carrots

A pumpkin and a carrot require an approximately equal amount of time to reach the optimal stage of readiness, so in this case a juice cooker is useful. The amount of water may vary - refer to the special designation inside the device. Cook for about 50 minutes.

With sea buckthorn

Preparing a pumpkin drink with the addition of sea buckthorn is incredibly easy, and it turns out to be very tasty and nutritious. So, wipe the washed sea buckthorn berries through a sieve, then strain them and combine them with freshly squeezed pumpkin juice (at the rate of 0.5 l of sea buckthorn nectar per 2.5 l of pumpkin). Put the resulting mass on low heat, wait for boiling and keep on fire for another 5 minutes.

Did you know? Mexico is considered the birthplace of pumpkin, where, according to scientists, it grows from III millennium BC. e.

How to close pumpkin juice for the winter

Thanks to the rolled up drink, you will be provided all year round with the nutrients that pumpkin contains.

To close pumpkin juice for the winter, you do not need to be a professional, it is enough to learn a few basic subtleties:

1. When boiling, do not allow strong boiling. - the liquid should warm up well, but not boil.
2. Adjust the consistency of the drink as you wish. - in finished form, the drink can be either liquidish or thicker.
3. Sliced ​​vegetables are cooked on average up to 1 hour. To understand if the vegetable is ready, pierce it with a fork - the structure should become soft.
4. The delicacy will come out even more interesting to taste, if you do not cook the pumpkin, but bake it in the oven. A beverage prepared in this way can be sweetened with sugar or honey.
5. To extend the shelf life of the workpiece, sterilize cans with a drink in boiling water for a quarter of an hour.

   

6. A good preservative is citric acid or citrus juice. (lemon or orange). If you pour a little acid into the drink, then sterilization can be neglected.
7. Most recipes do not indicate a specific dosage of sugar. The reason is different types of sweets pumpkin. In addition, your taste preferences play an important role in this matter.
8. The amount of citric acid also depends on taste preferences. The only requirement is that its presence in the drink should taste good.
9. Having rolled up the banks, be sure to turn them upside down. Only after complete cooling can you remove the workpieces in a cool room for long-term storage.

Important! A mandatory point is to warm the juice before bottling. In addition, it is necessary to seal containers tightly. Only under these conditions, the drink will withstand storage and will not sour.

If you take the habit of regular consumption of pumpkin juice, your health will noticeably improve, your body will become healthier and more resilient. The main thing is to take into account all warnings about the possible harmful effects on the body of this vegetable and refrain from excessive consumption of this drink.