I love chilled soursop juice or zi korsol! This creamy and healthy tropical fruit juice tastes great, especially when prepared fresh from tree-ripened soursop.
Soursop Juice- Zi Korsol
If you have travelled extensively in the tropics then you would have most likely seen the soursop tree, which is an evergreen tree with the scientific name Annona muricata. In Seychelles, the soursop trees grow wild and are scattered in the hills of the granite islands. They do not grow on the coral islands.
The fruits are dark green and prickly. They are ovoid and can be up to 30 centimetres long, with a moderately firm texture. The flesh of the fruit consists of an edible, white pulp which is juicy, acid, whitish and aromatic, some fiber, and a core of indigestible black seeds.
The pulp tastes like a combination of strawberry and pineapple, with sweet, musky and citrus notes. It is traditionally eaten raw and made into juice and was not used for any medicinal purposes. However, it is now used for beverages, desserts, smoothies, and candy, and has in recent years gained a lot of popularity because of its impressive health benefits which include its ability to kill parasites, reduce inflammation, improve respiratory conditions, and relieve pain and many more.
Although the pulverized seeds and decoctions made of leaves are popular forms of natural remedies in some countries they are not commonly used in Seychelles.
Selection
Select a ripe soursop. Look for a fruit with green skin that can be indented when you apply a little pressure with your thumb, ie soft to the touch. A hard fruit with yellow-green skin should be allowed to ripen at room temperature for a few days.
Making the Soursop Juice
The traditional way to make this juice is by using the hands although most household will now use a blender. The blender gives a thicker juice because more of the pulp and fibre is broken down through blending, and it is left in the juice rather than getting strained out.
Steps to follow to make fresh soursop juice in the traditional way:
1. Wash the soursop under running water. Dirt can get caught in between the bumps of the skin, so you may need to scrub the fruit with your fingers to get it clean.
2. Peel the fruit. In spite of its initial appearance, the skin is very soft and can be peeled by hand. You do not need to use a peeler or any other tools to complete this step.
3. The next step is to cut the fruit in half and separate the pulp from the core with a knife or a spoon. This can become quite messy and you may choose to perform this task over a bowl. Remove as many seeds contained within the pulp as possible, and leave it completely white.
4. Place the soursop into a large bowl and add water. It is best to use a bowl with a wide mouth since you will need to work with the fruit while it is inside the bowl. The process can also get messy, so you may also want to choose a bowl with plenty of extra depth.
5. Squeeze the fruit with your hands. Since the flesh is so soft, it should be easy to squeeze without the use of any specialised kitchen tool. Squeezing the soursop releases its juices, and squeezing the juices directly into the water blends them together more thoroughly. By the end of the process, you should be left with a juice that has pieces of pulp and the fruit’s fibrous core which should be discarded.
6. Position a mesh strainer over another bowl. The strainer should be small enough to fit over the bowl without any overlap, and the bowl should be large enough to contain all the liquid from your soursop. The strainer should also have fairly small gaps. The larger the gaps are, the more likely that pulp will get through.
7. Slowly pour the juice through your strainer and into the bowl. This process may take a while, depending on the size of your strainer. Do not hesitate to use your hand , if required, to force the soursop pulp through the strainer. You should end up with only the fibre in the strainer and a creamy juice in your bowl.
8. You may decide to add some sugar and a pinch of salt if you wish and give the juice a final stir before pouring it into glasses. Serve it chilled or over ice.
Here is the recipe for Soursop Juice – Zi Korsol
- 1 ripe soursop fruit
- 1 litre water
- sugar to taste
- Pinch of salt ( optional)
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Wash the fruit under running water and tap dry
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Remove the soft green skin, with your hand (just peel it off).
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Cut peeled fruit in half and over a large bowl, separate the pulp from the core with a knife or a spoon.
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Remove as many seeds as possible, and leave the pulp completely white.
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Place the soursop into the bowl and add water. It is best to use a wide bowl since you will need to work with the fruit while it is inside the bowl. The process can also get messy, so you may also want to choose a bowl with plenty of extra depth.
-
Squeeze the fruit with your hands. Since the flesh is so soft, it should be easy to squeeze without the use of any specialized kitchen tool. Squeezing the soursop releases its juices, and squeezing the juices directly into the water blends them together more thoroughly. By the end of the process, you should be left with a juice that has pieces of pulp and the fruit's fibrous core which should be discarded.
-
Position a mesh strainer over another bowl that should be large enough to contain all the liquid from your soursop. The strainer should also have fairly small gaps. The larger the gaps are, the more likely that pulp will get through.
-
Slowly pour the juice through your strainer and into the bowl. This process may take a while, depending on the size of your strainer. You may decide to use your hand to force the soursop pulp through the strainer.
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The end result should be a nice thick creamy blend. Add more water if it is too thick and add sugar to taste. You may decide to add a pinch of salt if you wish.
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Give the juice a final stir before pouring it into glasses. Serve it chilled or over ice.
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Wash and peel the fruit as above.
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Cut in half and place in a bowl.
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Mash roughly with your hands and remove all seeds and the fibrous core from the mashed soursop. The seeds are reputed to be toxic and should all be removed.
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Pour the mushy pulp into a blender. Do not worry about straining it first. Wipe up any juice that spills with paper towels.
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Blend the pulp several minutes using a medium to high-speed setting. The pulpy liquid should be smooth and creamy by the time you finish. At this stage the pulp will be very thick and requires thinning to turn it into a juice
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Add water to thin. Blend again.
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Serve the juice chilled in glasses with ice. Refrigerate any extra juice for up to a week
- You may add sugar if you feel the fruit is not sweet enough. In most cases you will find that the juice is sweet enough, unless you are unlucky to end up with a sour fruit.
Some people even add some sweetened condensed milk to further sweeten the juice. Please note that sweetened condensed milk will also make the juice thicker. - You may also add a squeeze of lime juice to the finished product. It will give an extra dimension to the taste
- You can add ice cubes if you feel like it or keep the juice in the fridge for a few hours.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy preparing this drink. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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