I always thought sweet potato belonged on a dinner plate, not in a glass, and then someone handed me a cup of this at a market and I had to eat my words. It comes out sweet without being sickly, and the ginger leaves a warm prickle at the back of your throat that keeps you going back for it. Two apples and a decent-sized sweet potato make enough for two glasses. I make it on mornings when I know I have a long stretch ahead of me and a coffee is not going to cover it.
Why these ingredients work
Sweet potato is where the substance in this drink comes from. One medium sweet potato gives the glass roughly 560mg of potassium, which is more than you would get from a banana, along with a generous dose of beta-carotene, the pigment your body converts into vitamin A. The apples bring the sweetness and enough vitamin C to keep the flavour bright. Ginger is in there for the warmth and for the way it settles a stomach early in the day, and the lemon cuts through the sugar so the whole thing does not finish syrupy.
Sweet potato is starchy, though, and that shapes how you make it. It needs a slow juicer or a blender to give up its juice properly, and it will settle in the glass within a minute or two. Stir it and drink it fresh.
FAQ
Can you juice a sweet potato raw?
Yes, with a bit more care than an apple needs. Raw sweet potato is dense and starchy, so a masticating juicer or a blender handles it far better than a fast centrifugal one. On a centrifugal juicer, feed it through in chunks alternated with apple wedges and empty the pulp basket halfway, or the starch turns to paste and your yield drops. Peeling is optional if you are juicing it, but do peel it before blending, because the skin goes gritty.
Does sweet potato juice taste earthy?
It tastes sweet first, with a soft earthy note behind it, and that earthiness is usually what puts people off the idea. The two apples carry most of the flavour here, and the ginger and lemon make sure the finish stays clean rather than heavy. If you want it lighter, add another apple or top the glass up with cold water.
How long does sweet potato juice keep?
Not long. It separates within a couple of minutes, which is normal for a starchy juice, and it goes flat after about fifteen minutes. Give it a stir before every sip. If you have to store it, fill an airtight glass bottle right to the top, keep it in the fridge and finish it the same day. At around 16g of sugar a glass, treat it as breakfast rather than something to sip all morning.
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Sweet Potato, Apple and Ginger Juice
Equipment
- 1 Juicer masticating if you have one, it copes better with sweet potato
- 1 High-speed blender for the blender method
- 1 Nut milk bag
- 1 Budget cold press juicer a cheaper slow juicer handles this one fine
- 1 Budget blender works if you strain it well
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato about 250g, scrubbed, ends trimmed
- 2 red apples cored and cut into wedges
- 2 cm fresh ginger peeled
- ½ lemon peeled
- 250 ml cold water blender method only
Instructions
Juicer method
- Scrub the sweet potato rather than peeling it. Most of what you want sits right under the skin, so give it a good wash under cold water, trim the ends and cut it into chunks that fit your feed chute.
- Core the apples and cut them into wedges. Peel the ginger and the lemon.
- Feed the sweet potato through first, then alternate the rest of it with apple wedges. The apple keeps the pulp moving and stops the starch clogging the basket.
- Push the ginger and the lemon through last. Stir the juice properly before you pour, because sweet potato settles within a minute or two.
- Pour over ice and drink it straight away.
Blender method
- Peel the sweet potato and cut it into rough 2cm cubes. Peeling matters here, because the skin turns gritty once it is blended.
- Core and roughly chop the apples. Peel the ginger and the lemon.
- Blend everything with the 250ml of cold water for a full minute, until there are no lumps left at all.
- Pour it through a nut milk bag or a fine sieve set over a jug and let it drain. Press the pulp gently with the back of a spoon, but do not squeeze hard or starch comes through.
- Chill it for ten minutes, stir and serve.