Fresh juice & smoothie prep
Applies to: any fresh-squeezed juice or blended smoothie made to order.
Target: under 3 minutes from order to serve; consumed within about 15 minutes of blending.
- Wash produce under running water, scrub firm items, and trim away any damaged or bruised spots.
- Pre-portion fruit (peel, pit, chop) into pieces sized for the blender.
- Chill fruit or portion ice per the recipe.
- Keep the recipe card or ratio spec at the station for reference.
- Sanitize the blender jar and blade between drinks with different allergen profiles.
- Add the liquid base (milk, juice, or water) to the blender jar first.
- Liquid first keeps the blade clear and stops dry or frozen ingredients from binding around it.
- Add soft, wet ingredients (yogurt, soft or ripe fruit) next.
- A soft-to-hard order keeps the load even so the motor doesn't stall on a dense pocket.
- Add the thickener and any frozen fruit or ice last, measured to the recipe's fruit:liquid:thickener ratio.
- Ratio measured against the recipe card, not judged by eye — too much thickener or ice throws off both texture and cost.
- Blend in short pulses first to break up solid pieces, then run continuous until smooth.
- Check consistency partway through; add a small amount of liquid if the blend is too thick to move freely.
- Pour and serve immediately.
- A drink left standing separates or oxidizes quickly since fresh produce has no stabilizers.
- If it isn't served within the short hold window, discard it rather than re-blending and serving it as fresh.
- Re-blending a separated or browned drink doesn't reverse oxidation — it only hides it temporarily.
- Consistency is smooth and uniform, matching the recipe's intended texture (no unblended chunks or ice shards unless the recipe calls for them).
- Color and separation checked before serving — visible browning or a separated layer signals the produce has been sitting too long.
- Fruit:liquid:thickener ratio matches the recipe spec, confirmed against the recipe card rather than judged by eye.
Fresh produce oxidizes and separates quickly once blended or juiced — there's no equivalent to a coffee's hold time here; the safe window is short. Blend or juice to order, serve immediately, and never carry a pre-made batch through a shift.