From the Juicer: Orange Sweet Potato Juice

Orange Sweet Potato Juice

You might not have thought of putting a sweet potato in your juicer, but the results are excellent: mildly sweet, creamy in texture, and especially delicious with a little citrus. Here, it's mixed with lime, orange, and fresh carrot juice.

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[Photo: Carolyn Cope]

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Carolyn Cope

I'd never considered juicing sweet potatoes until a couple of months ago, when I went to my local, usually well-stocked fruiterer looking for a few sweet potatoes to bake for dinner. "We're all out," they said. "Everyone's juicing them now."

Huh.

I've juiced my way around the root vegetable and tuber garden more than once at this point and even spent a weekend a couple of years ago learning about raw food haute cuisine, in which sweet potatoes featured prominently. So why hadn't I juiced a sweet potato?

To be honest, I think it was because it didn't sound very appealing. Why kale juice, ginger juice, and beet juice would sound appealing but sweet potato juice would not, I have no idea. But it didn't. And I enjoyed the rare opportunity to be like, "Man, people juice the freakiest things, right?" instead of my usual MO, which is—naturally—juicing freaky things.

We'll, I've been wrong before. And, it turns out, I was wrong again. Sweet potato juice has a mild flavor and surprising creaminess that blends well with a wide range of flavors. In my experience so far it does pack a touch of that raw spinach mouthfeel, which isn't its most honorable attribute. But I'm glad to have tried it a few times, and I'll definitely try it again. If you're also new to sweet potato juice, this recipe is an vibrant and tasty way to get started.