Homegrown Juice Hk

[Suk Harian]

Back in the day, beet juice was a niche drink for people in-the-know, such as folks who drink it for lower blood pressure and athletes who want it for improved performance. Ann Marie Feighery is changing that, with homegrown juice sold on store shelves nationwide.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong announced last week that a sample of the drink imported from Australia was contaminated with the mycotoxin. Patulin can be found in damaged or moldy fruits. If contaminated apples are used to make juices, high levels are likely to be carried through to the final product. Pasteurization will generally destroy mold but cannot remove patulin which is already present.

Testing in Hong Kong
The CFS collected the sample at a supermarket in Hung Hom for testing as part of a routine food surveillance program. It was imported and distributed by PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited with a best before date of Oct. 6, 2020.

Results showed the sample contained patulin at 260 parts per billion (ppb), exceeding the action level of 50 ppb adopted by the CFS. This level is the same as the Codex Alimentarius Commission standard on patulin in apples or apple juice.

Singapore and Australia recalls
The level of patulin detected by CFS also exceeds the maximum limit in fruit juice in the Singapore Food Regulations. This may cause the product to be unsafe for consumption and people who have purchased the item should not consume it, according to the Singapore Food Agency.

The 1 liter bottle of 100% Raw Apple Juice with Manuka honey, lemon and ginger was manufactured by Homegrown Juice Company and imported by Dairy Farm Company Limited. It has a best before date of June 21, 2020.

I grew up in the southern city of Chennai, where summers are scorching. And sugarcane juice was a popular seasonal cooler. I would stop for a tall glass of freshly pressed juice from a street vendor on hot afternoons. The sunburned man would pass the plump cane stalks through his machine and turn its big wheels with his hands. A pale green juice would flow out on to a steel container on the other side.

This was a cool, refreshing and rare treat, long before the idea of cold-pressed juice came into vogue. As I grew up and moved away from home, the sugarcane juice vendor continued to tempt me across cities, but the siren song of his machine was drowned by warnings about water-borne diseases that echoed in my head. Vendors often added ice made from unfiltered water, a common cause for stomach infections.

Fresh sugarcane juice vendor in Mumbai, India. Growing concerns over sanitation in recent decades have led to the declining popularity of fresh fruit juice vendors. Louis Vest/Flickr hide caption

So, finding sugarcane juice after all these years, in modern and hygienic packaging, felt like a game-changer. And that's when I began to notice that the market is starting to get flooded with such beverages from my childhood. They are traditional, seasonal drinks, once sold by street vendors or made at home by mothers and grandmothers. Be it aam panna, a drink made of the sweetened pulp of green mango, considered cooling in summer, or golgappa ka pani, the spicy, sour and sweet mix of water served with a popular street dish, or common juices like sugarcane, consumers can now buy these uniquely Indian, semi-forgotten tastes at shops and supermarkets.

Aam panna, a drink made with roasted green mango was once an integral part of the Indian summer experience. But with more people leading busier lives, few people still make the drink at home. Those who crave the drink now can buy this packaged version by Paper Boat. Paper Boat hide caption

Their marketing seems to be working for many. "I love it that Paper Boat is promoting Indian drinks," says Priya Pathiyan, a journalist in Mumbai. "We have a wealth of ingredients and flavors that are also suitable for our weather." And the company's "ads take me back to my childhood," she adds.

A company like Raw Pressery on the other hand, is marketing good health, with promises of fresh ingredients, with no additives or artificial flavors. The company started off by offering cold-pressed, mixed fruit and vegetable juices with a "detox" theme (Trim, Flush and Glow were some of the initial flavors). More recently, it has introduced more conventional fruit juices like orange and apple, in clean, contemporary bottles and indeed without any additives. "We wish to establish that our juices are comprised of fruit in their raw, untainted, natural and [the] most glorious form," founder Anuj Rakyan tells us via e-mail.

Health conscious parents seem to be happy to give their children these new drinks (especially Paper Boat), without the guilt that typically accompanies a serving of fizzy drinks. Sathya Saran is a writer and yoga-enthusiast from Mumbai who enjoys these juices because they "suggest health without tasting ugh." She also prefers that her granddaughter drinks them instead of colas and other aerated beverages.

"I don't believe that any packaged food can be entirely "pure" or free from sugar and preservatives as they claim," says Malathi Srinivasan, a working mother of three, based in the southern city of Bengaluru. But like many urban parents, she views these drinks as the "lesser of the two evils." She would rather give her kids an anar (pomegranate) or aamras (mango juice) from such brands, than even conventional fruit juice brands like Tropicana or Real.

Whatever the reasons behind Indians buying these drinks, it is clear that this fledgling industry is growing. According to Indian newspapers, the homegrown beverage market is now almost as big as the cola market in India.

Mint is a perennial herb that grows best in wet, moist environments. There are many different types of mint (like spearmint, peppermint) and they generally grow anywhere from 4 to 47 inches in height.

Try making a family friendly version of the infamous Cuban mojito for a relaxing afternoon out on the patio. Place 30 mint leaves in a bowl, along with the juice of 4 limes and cup of sugar. Muddle the mixture together to break up the mint leaves. Place ingredients in a pitcher. Add ice and 3 cups of lime club soda. Stir and serve.

You may be familiar with basil in Italian cooking (it accounts for a lot of the flavor in pesto sauce), but it also makes for a great addition to a drink. Try mixing it with strawberries to make a Strawberry Basil Soda.

Place 3 cups of strawberries (tops removed) in a blender and puree. Mix puree with 3 cups of carbonated soda water. Add juice of one lime. Chop 10 basil leaves and mix into beverage, along with desired ice. Makes 1 pitcher.

Lavender is a hearty, perennial shrub (but often considered an annual in the South) that is beautiful to look at and even more wonderful to smell. The plant thrives in hot environments, does not need a lot of water and prefers air that is not humid. English lavender is one of the most common varieties.

Start by creating your own lemonade: Combine cup of sugar with 1 cups of boiling water and stir until sugar has dissolved. Let the mixture cool. Add cup of lemon juice and 2 cups of water to mixture. Mix in 3 tablespoons of lavender flowers.

Rosemary is a perennial shrub that can grow up to 4 feet tall in a garden. The hardy plant can survive a long period of time without water and loves the sun. The needle-like leaves often have flowers ranging in color from blue to purple.

Note A: Umeboshi (salted plum) paste, Korean chili powder and furikake, a Japanese rice seasoning blend, are available at Whole Foods Markets, as well as Asian supermarkets and specialty stores. To make the furikake used at Hazel, see the note below.

Make ahead: The tomatoes need to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature and can be refrigerated for up to 1 day in advance. Sprinkle with the furikake just before serving. If you make the furikake seasoning blend, refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Note: The chopped tomatoes need to drain for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The assembled strata needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. It needs to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.

Place the tomatoes in a colander set over a bowl; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt and stir to combine. Let the tomatoes drain for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring them occasionally, then place a small plate over the tomatoes and press down firmly several times to remove more liquid.

Grease the inside of a 2-quart baking dish with cooking oil spray. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a single layer of about half of the bread, breaking up some pieces and using them to fill in gaps as needed. Top with a little less than half of the tomatoes, first giving them a good final squeeze to get rid of more liquid.

Stir together the Parmigiano-Reggiano and ricotta cheeses in a bowl, until well combined, then drop dollops of the mixture over the tomatoes. Use the back of a spoon to spread it into an even layer. Drizzle evenly with 3 tablespoons of the pesto. Scatter about half of the basil over the pesto. Sprinkle with a few grinds of pepper.

Add a second layer of bread. (You might not need all of it.) Top with the remaining tomatoes (squeezing them first), drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of pesto and evenly scatter over the remaining basil. Top evenly with the mozzarella slices.

Combine the eggs, milk and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large liquid measuring cup with a pour spout; use an egg beater or immersion (stick) blender to thoroughly incorporate. Pour the mixture down the inside of the baking dish to fill it to within 1/2 inch of the top, pressing down lightly on the assembled strata to make sure all the bread is moistened. You will probably have some of the mixture left over; cover the measuring cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

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