# Anyone made spinach juice without a juicer?



## tenspeed (Feb 20, 2017)

I would like to make spinach pasta with my pasta machine (Philips extrusion machine).  Philips calls for using spinach juice, of course made with a Philips juicer ($300  ).  I asked Mr. Google how to make spinach juice without a juicer.  There are a few references on how to make spinach juice with a blender.  Cut the leaves from the fibrous stems and cut the leaves into smaller pieces so they pulverize instead of wrapping around the blades.  Put a cup of water in the blender and slowly add the leaves to puree them, and then strain through a sieve.

  As it's an extrusion machine I don't want fibers in the juice, as they may interfere with the extrusion process by plugging the small holes in the discs.  I'm thinking that straining through a cheesecloth after the sieve would do the trick.

  Has anyone made spinach juice with a blender?


----------



## hikerman (Feb 23, 2017)

I have not. I have a juicer. I was going to say a coffee filter but that may take a week to drain. Do you have a fine-mesh strainer? In lieu of that you can always double or triple the cheese cloth until you like the results.


----------



## hikerman (Feb 23, 2017)

I have not. I have a juicer. I was going to say a coffee filter but that may take a week to drain. Do you have a fine-mesh strainer? In lieu of that you can always double or triple the cheese cloth until you like the results.


----------



## buckytom (Feb 23, 2017)

I saw a guy on a cooking show yesterday who made spinach pasta by blanching the leaves, then rough chopping them, then squeezing out the juice through a cheesecloth.

Hth.


----------



## CraigC (Feb 24, 2017)

buckytom said:


> I saw a guy on a cooking show yesterday who made spinach pasta by blanching the leaves, then rough chopping them, then squeezing out the juice through a *cheesecloth*.
> 
> Hth.



That is how we prep the spinach to make the dough, except we us a clean kitchen towel. The cheese cloth, IMO, is too porous and allows some of the spinach to "squirt" through. 

Karen makes an onion sauce to go with the spinach pasta. It is really, really good. I think the recipe is posted here. When she gets up, maybe she can find it or post it again.


----------



## medtran49 (Feb 24, 2017)

Here's a link to where Craig posted the spinach pasta and the onion sauce. 

http://www.discusscooking.com/forum...spinach-flavored-pasta-green-pasta-93217.html

I will say once you run the spinach through the food processor it's extremely finely chopped and I seriously doubt it would plug up the holes in the dies as the spinach is totally incorporated into the dough.  Maybe we'll change our menu for next week.  I was going to make spanikopita with grilled chicken treated like schwarma, but I could change that to a pasta dish and try and run it through our KA pasta maker dies, as they look very similar to the Phillips dies.  I'll run it by Craig when he gets back.  We'd been talking about trying them again since it didn't work out so well when we first tried it long ago when we were leaning how to make fresh pasta, and we never used it again.  

BTW, if you do use a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out juice, it has to be one that hasn't had fabric softener of any kind applied to it.  Just washed and then rinsed in clear plain water. 

And, if you use a fine mesh strainer, you can line it with a single ply of paper towel (dampen with water before using so it doesn't soak up your spinach juice as much).  That's how I strain broths and when we make limoncello and I need to strain out the lemon zest.


----------



## medtran49 (Feb 24, 2017)

Just in case we do decide to use the KA dies, those of you that use the Phillips and also have made hand/crank rolled pasta, do you make a softer dough for the Phillips or is the dough consistency the same as you would have for a hand/crank rolled machine?


----------



## tenspeed (Feb 24, 2017)

Thanks for the link to the recipe.

I have read that extrusion machines use a drier dough than roller machines, and judging by the YouTube videos I have watched, I would agree.  I followed the directions exactly for my first batch of pasta in the Philips.  As compared to my previous Pastamatic, at first I thought it was too dry.  The dough in the Philips does not hold together when it's done mixing - it looks like crumbled feta cheese.  The first inch or two of pasta was kind of ragged around the edges, then it smoothed out for the balance.

  The directions for the Pastamatic recommended that the dough clumps together in walnut size pieces after 3 minutes of mixing.  I learned that if it was too wet it would stick to the mixing paddle and not extrude properly.  If it was too dry it would be pretty ragged coming out of the disc.

  To give you a frame of reference, I think that using the paddle (not the dough hook) in a KitchenAid at a speed of 1 for 3 minutes would be an approximation of both the Philips and Pastamatic.

  The recipe for the Philips calls for 500 grams of flour to 180 ml of water, or 190 ml of water and egg mixed.  One ml of water weighs one gram.  Same proportions for 250 grams of flour.  I think this would be a good starting point for the KA extrusion attachment, and if you need to add water because it's coming out ragged, add a tablespoon at a time.  I got the best results in the Pastamatic by starting out a little on the dry side, and adding a bit of water to get the right consistency (which I learned from experience).


----------



## tenspeed (Feb 25, 2017)

I made some spinach juice this afternoon.  I took a package of frozen spinach (thawed) and put it in the blender.  I had to add about a half cup of water to get it to puree (mostly).  I squeezed the puree through a clean kitchen towel, and got about a cup or so of green juice with just a bit of sediment in it.  I'll be making the pasta a little later today and will see how it turns out.

  This looks like one of those "doable but not worth the effort" things without a juicer.  As a backup I bought a second box of spinach to add to the dish, which is probably what I will do in the future.

  Thanks for everyone's input.


----------



## Madeline D. Simmons (Aug 25, 2017)

@tenspeed, how did the pasta turn out?
Actually if you're making lots of that I'd suggest, instead of having a juicer and a pasta extruder, you could buy a masticating juicer that juices leafy greens AND also makes pasta/nut milk/nut butter. It will save you the space. Total cost is $250 - $350 for a decent one. Make sure it's a masticating (or if you have the money, triturating juicer) and NOT a centrifugal juicer, because the centrifugal is useless for leafy greens.


----------



## tenspeed (Aug 25, 2017)

Madeline D. Simmons said:


> @tenspeed, how did the pasta turn out?


Wasn't worth the effort.  If I want spinach pasta I'll buy it.

I have a Philips pasta machine, which makes fresh pasta a breeze to make.  There are some dishes where fresh pasta makes all the difference.  The machine gets used on a regular basis.


----------



## Mad Cook (Aug 25, 2017)

tenspeed said:


> I would like to make spinach pasta with my pasta machine (Philips extrusion machine).  Philips calls for using spinach juice, of course made with a Philips juicer ($300  ).  I asked Mr. Google how to make spinach juice without a juicer.  There are a few references on how to make spinach juice with a blender.  Cut the leaves from the fibrous stems and cut the leaves into smaller pieces so they pulverize instead of wrapping around the blades.  Put a cup of water in the blender and slowly add the leaves to puree them, and then strain through a sieve.
> 
> As it's an extrusion machine I don't want fibers in the juice, as they may interfere with the extrusion process by plugging the small holes in the discs.  I'm thinking that straining through a cheesecloth after the sieve would do the trick.
> 
> Has anyone made spinach juice with a blender?


No but I have used finely chopped spinach instead of juice. Not at home so can't find the recipe but Google may help.


----------

