Watermelon Juice - Easy Squeezy

Does anything feel like summer more than a red ripe juicy watermelon?

Here in India, the watermelon season is much longer than what it was when I lived in Pennsylvania, USA. Watermelon is such a fabulous treat, but sometimes navigating around the multitude of seeds starts to feel tedious when you just want to enjoy a mouthful of luscious fruit. This is how I was feeling one day when the idea of using my nut milk bag to make watermelon juice came to mind, and let me tell you, this was a great idea!! In the past I had been given an electric juicer which I eventually gave away because I found it took up too much space and was really a drag to clean after using. With a nut milk bag you can squeeze delicious watermelon juice without electricity and with very easy clean up!  

What is a Nut Milk Bag?

A Nut Milk Bag is a fabric bag made of nylon or cotton that is used to strain soaked and blended nuts to make nut milk. They are very inexpensive, costing just a few dollars, and have a variety of great uses. I bought my Nut Milk Bag  many years ago when I would make my own almond milk regularly. Now I use it to make paneer (Indian Cheese) and to strain yogurt if I want a thicker batch. I definitely suggest that you invest in a Nut Milk Bag if you aspire to make your own paneer, yogurt or watermelon juice. Not only are they inexpensive and versatile, but they take up barely any space in your kitchen since it can be rolled or folded smaller than your kitchen washcloth.  

Pro-Tip = If you do not have a Nut Milk Bag yet, you can use a clean kitchen towel instead, but it is more difficult since you would have to hold the towel closed around the fruit and the towel will also absorb a lot of the juice. Invest in a Nut Milk Bag. They cost less than a kitchen towel anyway. 

 

How can a Nut Milk Bag be used to make watermelon juice?

It is very easy actually and just requires a few kitchen items.  

 

Supplies: 

Nut Milk Bag 

Large Bowl 

Cutting Board 

Knife 

Watermelon

That’s all!  

 

How to make fresh squeezed watermelon juice

Place the Bag in the large bowl. The watermelon is so juicy that it will immediately start to drain through the bag so make sure you are catching every sweet drop of juice by keeping the bag in the bowl the whole time. 

Cut the watermelon into slices first and then cut the rind away from the fruit. Place the fruit in the bag.  

I was working with a smaller sized watermelon and all of its fruit fit into the bag in one go.  

Once the bag is filled with fruit, pull the drawstring to close the bag. During the squeezing process keep your thumb and index finger of one hand closed around the top of the bag so that no seeds escape. Now use both hands to press down on the bag in the bowl and start kneading it like it is a big lump of bread dough!  

As juice begins to collect in the bowl, you can pour it off into a container. Rather than placing the bag on the cutting board while pouring the juice, I held the bag against the inside edge of the bowl with the same hand that was holding the bowl to lift it and pour the juice. That way the juice that was still dripping from the bag would fall in the bowl.

Continue to press, squeeze and knead the bag of fruit. Feel with your fingers for any chunks of fruit still in the bag and squeeze them. The fruit in the bag will start to feel like smooth pulp instead of chunks of watermelon. Continue to squeeze the bag and empty the bowl as needed. Eventually you will end up with a small lump of semi-dry fruit remaining.

At this point you can go right ahead with a second watermelon if you wish. There is no need to empty the bag in-between. There will still be plenty of room in the bag for the second melon’s fruit. Repeat the process of squeezing, kneading and pouring until you are confident that you have gotten as much juice out as possible. My two small watermelons gave me about one and a half liters of delicious juice! It was amazing to see the little lump of pulp that remained as compared to the original size of the fruit. There is definitely a good reason why it is called watermelon.  

At the end of the process there is very little clean up. You can empty the bag by easily turning it inside-out. Then dispose of the pulp and the rinds and rinse out the bag. Hang the bag to dry. After that there is just the washing of the bowl, the cutting board and the knife and that is it! Now sit down and relax with your beautiful glass of watermelon juice.  

Pro-Tip = Refrigerate your watermelon in advance if possible. Not only will it make the work of squeezing it cooler, but then when you are done you will be able to enjoy a cold glass of watermelon juice right away.  

Watermelon Juice is a delicious way to stay hydrated during hot weather

There are also many other healthy benefits of Watermelon. You can follow this link to read, “The Top 9 Health Benefits of Watermelon.” You may be surprised to learn about how watermelon, besides being packed with nutrients, may also have anti-cancer effects, may improve heart health, reduce inflammation and more.  

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/watermelon-health-benefits 

 

Try a refreshing watermelon spritzer 

Combine your watermelon juice with seltzer water and garnish with a lime wedge or sprig of mint.   

 

For more easy tutorials like this one, and to see more photos from Making Watermelon Juice, check out Easy Urban Homesteading on the Beautiful Soul’s Academy; https://beautiful-souls-academy.teachable.com/p/easy-urban-homesteading/ There is no enrollment fee for this course. I am just happily sharing my knowledge of simple living with others who are interested. After enrolling, you will be notified by email when new tutorials are published.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Jennifer

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