juices in a row

How we make the healthiest juice

17 September 2020

At Sap.je, we consistently strive to make the best vegetable juice. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, we have thought long and hard about every step in the production process. We are not satisfied until everything is right, from growing the vegetables to packaging the juices. Read on to discover what we at Sap.je do to make the healthiest juice!

HOW WE MAKE HEALTHY JUICE

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1. SELECT 100% ORGANIC INGREDIENTS

If you drink vegetable juice for your health, it would be a shame to get a dose of pesticides with every sip. That is one of the reasons why at Sap.je, we only choose organic vegetables. We have been SKAL (organic)-certified for 6 years.

2. USE AS MANY LOCAL INGREDIENTS AS POSSIBLE

At Sap.je, we have a passion for nature. That is another reason why we choose organic vegetables. We also prefer to buy these from local farmers, to protect the environment and to make sure that the vegetables are fresh and actually organic. Some of our vegetables come from neighbouring countries, such as Belgium and Germany. Certainly, more exotic ingredients come from France, Greece and Spain. By getting as much as possible from within Europe, we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint.

3. CHOOSING SEASONAL INGREDIENTS

We use as many seasonal ingredients as possible, which grow in natural conditions. This is good for the planet and also gives you as much variety as possible. Every vegetable has its own nutrients to offer. That’s why it’s a shame to eat the same vegetables all year round. What’s more, the variety makes drinking our juices exciting!

vegetable juice

4. MAKING JUICES IN ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

The colours of vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices are partly responsible for the specific nutrients they contain. In short, a purple vegetable has nutrients that are different from those of an orange one. By combining ingredients largely by colour, we make sure that you can choose a juice that suits your needs in a very targeted way.

5. WORKING WITH HEALTH EXPERTS & MICHELIN-STARRED CHEFS

At Sap.je, we like to make vegetable juice that is both super healthy and super tasty. To achieve this, we work together with experts as much as possible. These include health gurus like Juglen Zwaan, David Wolfe, Joe Cross and Richard de Leth and top chefs like Ron Blaauw, Jonnie Boer and Sergio Herman.

Wild by David Wolfe

6. USE A LOT OF VEGETABLES

With one Sap.je juice, you get more vegetables in one go than you need in one day. The Nutrition Centre prescribes a minimum of 250 grammes, but our juices often contain 370 to 420 grammes of vegetables. Also, if you follow our juice cleanse, you’ll actually get several kilos per day! Our vegetable juices consist of at least 85 per cent vegetables, supplemented with fruit, herbs and spices. By using only a little fruit, we keep fruit sugars to a minimum. As a result, you don’t get a strong peak in your blood sugar level after drinking a juice. It is also better for your tooth enamel. Read about the advantages of drinking vegetable juice here.

7. SELECT FRESHLY-PICKED INGREDIENTS

Since Sap.je gets most of its ingredients from the Netherlands, we can better guarantee that they are freshly picked. We work together with farmers who grow and harvest their vegetables with love and let them ripen in the open air and sunshine as much as possible. Their vegetables are picked within 24 to 48 hours, after which, as much sand, insects and other debris as possible are removed. Then, they go directly to our juice lab, where we further process the ingredients ourselves.

8. Groenten wassen, snijden en persen met de hand

Washing, cutting and pressing are all done by hand at Sap.je. This traditional way of working means we can guarantee high quality..

washing vegetables

9. USING A SLOWJUICER

After extensive research, we have discovered that we can make the very best juices with a slowjuicer. These are the richest in nutrients, but they also stand out when it comes to colour, smell and taste. Very little food is wasted with Slowjuices. The relatively small amount of pulp that remains goes to feed the animals on a local biodynamic farm every week. We use a custom-built slowjuicer made entirely of stainless steel. This prevents undesirable substances in the juice, such as plastic particles.

slowjuicer

10. WE DO NOT USE PLASTIC IN PRODUCTION

You won’t find any plastic at all in our production process. Everything we use, from the Slowjuicer to the juices, spoons and bottling equipment, is made of stainless steel. Read why we use glass here.

11. MAKING JUICE IN A COOLED ENVIROMENT

We squeeze the juice in a sealed kitchen, where the temperature is 7 degrees Celsius. No heat is released during the juicing itself. In this way, we preserve as many nutrients as possible.

12. NOT ADDING ANYTHING TO THE JUICE

Our juices are 100% organic, raw vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices – nothing else. We do not use any preservatives, flavourings, colourings or preservatives and we do not add water to the juices at all. Nor are the ingredients processed in any way; there is no HPP or pasteurisation. As a result, the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other nutrients are better preserved.

13. BOTTLING THE JUICE IN GLASS

In order to preserve the quality of the juice as much as possible, we bottle it in glass bottles. With plastic bottles, you run the risk of toxins ‘leaking’ into the juice, but this is not the case with glass. Moreover, glass is a much more environmentally-friendly material. Our glass is recycled and the caps are also recyclable. Also, all the labels and additional packaging materials are FSC-certified, which means they come from responsible forestry.

glas bottles juices

14. FREEZING THE JUICE

Immediately after being pressed, our juices go into the shockfreezer. This freezes them very quickly, keeping them fresh for as long as possible. If we deliver the juices fresh, they will lose some nutritional value before they reach you. We don’t have that problem with frozen juices, and we use a special frozen delivery service to ensure they stay frozen.

15. USING NATURAL DETERGENTS

We clean all our materials with natural, vegetable-based detergents. In this way, we prevent harmful substances from reaching the juice. This is also better for the environment and our employees.

16. FULLY POWERED BY SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY

At Sap.je, we like to look at the bigger picture. Then, we can only conclude that what is good for the world is good for us, and also, good for you. That’s why we run entirely on local sustainable solar and wind energy, directly from Zeeland.

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This article was written by sapje

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