The art and science of the smoothie

[Wholemeal Crank]

Waking up this topic with a question for a friend:

"This morning I was making a smoothie with a hachiya persimmon, lactose

free kefir, almond milk, and some cinammon. Everything sat there

together happily until I applied stick blender. It became liquid for

about 10 seconds & then curdled into something very thick & icky.

Tasted just a dab & it was horribly tannic. I guess the persimmon

wasn't fully ripe even though it was soft all over & the bit I tasted

before adding it wasn't tannic.

But does tannin lead to curdling? I've done this before but maybe it

was with perfectly ripe hachiyas."

Anyone know what might have gone on here with the texture of the smoothie?

[francis8888]

My daughter got me addicted to green smoothies.  Yes a high power / speed blender is needed for pulverizing seeds (like flax, chia, hemp, sesame) otherwise they pass right through your digestive system.

[DianaM]

What blender are you using, francis8888?

[msacuisine]

So it's been a while since anyone posted to this topic, so I'm going to start it back up again because I got a VM 780 refurb at an incredible discount.

 

So some of the things I'm thinking of adding to  my smoothie are:

Psyllium powder to get fiber without the calories that would come from oats.

Caffeine pill because I'm going to replace my morning coffee with a smoothie and I don't want to deal with the headaches. I may gradually taper down.  

Zanthum for thickening because a family member is allergic to bananas.

Protein powder.

 

Does anyone have any advice about using the ingredients that haven't been mentioned yet in the thread.

Edited August 28, 2017 by msacuisine
Accidentally pressed control enter before I was done writing. (log)

[Beebs]

Ok, so I've been doing smoothies in the spring/summer, but not really during the colder months. No blender - using an immersion blender & large measuring pitcher. It would be nice to have a blender but not too much space for another small appliance, after my recent Instant Pot purchase....

 

Anyway, my smoothies inevitably turn an unappetizing shade of blah after 15 mins or so, the time it takes for me to get to work. Today's smoothie was almond milk, bananas, blueberries, mango, bit of honey - blended into a lovely shade of lilac. Until I got to work. Tasted fine, but drinking a glass of blah grey for breakfast isn't ideal. What can I do to make it look less - blah? Is it the bananas? My choice of fruit?

[Chris Hennes]

I've always assumed it was the bananas, in particular because something like a plain blueberry smoothie (just berries, yogurt, and milk) keeps its color reasonably well. So that's the first ingredient I'd cut when looking for the culprit.

[Katie Meadow]

4 hours ago, msacuisine said:

  

Zanthum for thickening because a family member is allergic to bananas.

Protein powder.

 

Does anyone have any advice about using the ingredients that haven't been mentioned yet in the thread.

 

I'm not allergic to bananas but I really can't abide them in smoothies. They make every smoothie taste the same, at least to me. If you want to boost the thickness factor try adding some mango. Even with the addition of coconut milk or dairy the only way to unthicken a mango smoothie is to use a lot of orange juice. Fresh pineapple seems to keep the gloopiness factor down as well. Maybe mango fibre doesn't break down easily--no idea. A good flavor addition to a mango smoothie is a few drops of almond extract. Very tasty!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Take the caffeine pill with water when you get up, before you make the smoothie.  Caffeine adds bitter a taste that is welcome in tea or coffee but less so in other foods and beverages*.  Ask me how I know.  In high school I added caffeine to strawberry jam sandwiches.

 

I agree about the bananas.

 

 

*Also saves fingers.

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by JoNorvelleWalker
spelling (log)

[EatingBen]

On 8/29/2017 at 8:15 AM, Beebs said:

, my smoothies inevitably turn an unappetizing shade of blah after 15 mins or so, the time it takes for me to get to work. Today's smoothie was almond milk, bananas, blueberries, mango, bit of honey - blended into a lovely shade of lilac. Until I got to work. Tasted fine, but drinking a glass of blah grey for breakfast isn't ideal. What can I do to make it look less - blah? Is it the bananas? My choice of fruit?

It’s oxidising from the air. It’s unlikely anything you are adding unless it’s moving very high on the pH scale which is unlikely so the other culprit is air. And yes stick blenders still incorporate a fair about of air into the mix and it’s enough that the process will still take place. 
 

You can somewhat off set it by adding more acidic ingredients, buying a blender that will suck the air out of the jug, using a drinking container that isn’t clear. The oxidation is affecting the colour more then the contents. 

[btbyrd]

Adding ascorbic acid powder helps too.