The Big Squeeze: Juicing Hits Boston

Photographs by Jonathon Kambouris (Juice); Scott M. Lacey (Fruit); Styling by Jessica Weatherhead

GET JUICED

The Mother Juice team breaks down a few concoctions on their menu. From left to right:

Boston on My Mind: “We recently discovered pomelos. So we threw that in there, and we added a kick of ginger to make it different than a plain fruit juice.”

Beet the Heat: “Beet juice is great, but can be a bit too heavy for people. The kick of jalapeño makes it more fun to drink—like a virgin bloody mary’s cousin.”

Emerald Queen: “It’s important to have a good ratio of your greens with something sweet. The orange made it less acidic-tasting and more smooth.”

Liquid Sunshine: “The pepper gives you a lot of nutrients and vitamins, and adding it cuts the sweetness of the pineapple a little bit.”

Ruby Beauty: “We wanted to do something different from your average ‘carrot-apple-beet’ blend. We were looking for something a bit more fruity—like dessert.”

Over the past year, Boston has been getting a vitamin boost, in the form of fresh-pressed juices. Juice opened in the Back Bay last spring, followed by Medford’s Nourish Your Soul and the North End’s E.t.c. Juicery, which plans to sell packaged drinks at the nearby Local Roots farmers’ market. This month, the new Kickstarter-funded food truck Mother Juice hits the streets, offering natural nectars sourced from nearby farms.

“We’re taking local, organic fruits and vegetables from around the state and putting it in your hands,” says Claire Schlemme, a cofounder of Mother Juice. “It’s a cool way to connect local farmers with people in the city,” adds her business partner, Ellen Fitzgerald.

Not sure you can hold your wheatgrass? Luckily, juicing isn’t just for yogis and health nuts anymore. Think of it as a simple, nutrient-rich alternative to the heavy foods that appear on so many restaurant menus.

Find Mother Juice at the Boston Public Library (Mondays and Wednesdays) and at the intersection of Milk and Kilby streets (Tuesdays).