Is it Better to Juice or Blend Your Ambrosia Apples?

There’s no question that Ambrosia apples taste great as juice or in a smoothie. But, is one better than the other?

We decided to compare these two popular ways of drinking your favourite apple.

Before we jump into the comparison, let’s clarify what we mean.

Juicing an Ambrosia apple is the process of extracting the liquid from the fruit. There are several ways to do this but most people opt for making it with either a cold-press juicing machine or a centrifugal juicing machine. You can learn more about these two methods and more in this blog about how to make Ambrosia apple juice.

Ambrosia apple juice can also be found pre-made at some farmgate stores and farmers’ markets. For this reason, juice can sometimes be the easier option.

Blending is quite simply when you put the apple (cored and sometimes peeled) into a blender and liquify it. This option results in a much thicker beverage. We love a blended Ambrosia apple on it’s own but many people like to add spices or combine it with other fruits and veggies in a nutritious smoothie.

So, which one is better for you?

One of the health benefits of Ambrosia apples is that they are a good source of fibre. When you juice, you lose some of that fibre. So, in this way, blending is better.

With blending, you maintain more nutrients from the whole fruit because the whole fruit is still in the beverage whereas much is discarded with the pulp when you juice.

The nutrients are easier to absorb when blended (compared to eating the whole fruit) because they’ve already been broken down. But, this is where juicing wins out – the nutrients in juice are even more readily available because they in the liquid form. The nutrients may be lower but the body feels the benefits sooner.

From a health perspective, the answer to the ‘blend or juice’ debate really depends on your body. Do you struggle to get enough fibre? Then blending is the way to go. On the other hand, if your body has trouble with fibre then juicing will help you get the nutrients without all of the extra work needed to digest fibre.

There are a few more considerations in the great debate. The first is that juice, specifically the natural sugars in juice, is absorbed faster into the bloodstream. This can cause a blood sugar spike. The fibre in smoothies slows down this absorption so you have energy sustained over a longer period of time.

The other consideration is that smoothies tend to be more filling so you are less likely to consume as much. Some will find this to be a good thing since you will be satisfied with fewer calories. On the other hand, fans of juicing point out that it’s easier to drink more servings of fruits and vegetables when they are  in juice form.

Whether you opt to blend or juice is up to you but we recommend using Ambrosia apples because they are slow to brown. This means that smoothies and juice made from Ambrosia apples won’t turn brown within minutes of making them!