Imagine enjoying a delicious and refreshing juice that will transport you to the tropical flavors of Colombia! Today I want to introduce you to the recipe for lulo juice, a popular drink in Colombian culture that combines the sweet and sour flavor of lulo with the freshness of ice and the sweetness of sugar.
It's perfect to enjoy at any time of the day, whether as a revitalizing breakfast, a snack on a hot afternoon, or as an accompaniment to a tasty meal. Best of all, it's very easy to prepare and you only need a few ingredients to get a delicious result.
Lulo juice is undoubtedly a very chosen drink in Colombian homes, this is because it is very refreshing and with some acid touches that are capable of conquering palates.
Lulo Juice
We love this drink, especially for those hot days, and for this reason, I want to share it with you. Stay and prepare with us a nutritious and refreshing drink.
Differences with other recipes
- It will have the exact balance between acidity and sweet notes, obtaining the perfect balance of flavors you are looking for.
- You can sweeten it as you like, sugar, honey, sweetener, and even with panela, all contributing a delicious flavor without affecting the recipe.
- In water or in milk, thick or clear, the recipe will be just as delicious in the way you choose.
What is lulo?
Lulo is a subtropical plant also known as naranjilla, which presents large leaves covered with short hairs. It is a fruit similar to tomato, with a yellow or orange peel.
This fruit is consumed ripe, and is used in the preparation of desserts, sauces, juices, or shakes. It is a drink very pursued thanks to its refreshing power and its acid touches.
How can we prepare a good juice?
Preparing this juice is very easy, to start, choose the lulo, for this, choose the ripest ones. With the help of a knife, cut them in half, and with the help of a spoon, extract the pulp from the inside.
You should be very careful not to extract the pulp and leave peel stuck to it. Once the pulp is extracted, add it to the blender glass and discard the peel.
Add to the blender the water or milk, sugar or honey, good herb, and ice. Process for about a minute and strain the juice to remove the seeds. Serve and enjoy immediately.
What can this juice be accompanied with?
This is a drink that adapts to different flavors easily, so it can be accompanied with some beans, a stew, a sancocho, and any other type of food.
Tips and recommendations
- If you don't like it so acidic, you can add more sweet (sugar, honey, or panela)
- Add good pulp and make it in milk, if you want it very thick,
- If you want a good lulo juice, but granita, decrease the measure of water or milk and add good ice.
Benefits of lulo
- It contains phosphorus and vitamin A, which help in the formation of hair, nails, and strong bones.
Recommended recipes
- Spaghetti with chicken: An ideal lunch to accompany this excellent recipe.
- Pineapple juice: Try a different, nutritious, and delicious drink every day.
- Passion fruit dessert: For the final touch, a delicious dessert.
Lulo FAQ
A small orange fruit from the Andes with green pulp inside, related to the tomato. It is sharply tart, and the taste is usually described as somewhere between lime, pineapple and rhubarb. In Ecuador and Panama it is called naranjilla, which is the name it is normally sold under abroad.
Rarely. The fruit bruises easily and is not grown at scale, so it hardly travels. What you will find is frozen pulp, sold as lulo or naranjilla in Latin grocery freezers and online. It is the normal way to make this juice outside Colombia and the result is very close.
Roughly 400 to 500 g of pulp, which is a standard pack, stands in for four fresh fruits. Blend it straight from frozen with the water or milk and skip the scooping and straining, since the pulp comes already seedless.
Both are traditional and they give different drinks. With water it is bright, sharp and refreshing, which is how it is drunk at lunch. With milk it becomes a sorbete: creamier, rounder and much less acidic, which suits people who find the fruit too tart.
Lulo is full of small hard seeds that the blender does not break down, and they are unpleasant to drink. Pass it through a sieve after blending. If you are using frozen pulp this step is usually unnecessary, since the seeds have already been removed.
Hierbabuena, which is spearmint. It is optional and goes in with the pulp before blending, adding a cool note against the acidity. Regular mint works. It is not peppermint, which is stronger and more medicinal.
Sour enough that lulo juice is essentially never drunk unsweetened. Start with the three tablespoons in the recipe and taste: the fruit varies a lot in acidity, and pulp from different brands varies too. Add sugar at the end, once it is blended.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lulos (naranjilla) (or about 450 g frozen lulo pulp, which is easier to find outside Colombia)
- 3 cups water or milk (about 700 ml; water for a sharp juice, milk for a creamier sorbete)
- 3 tablespoons sugar or honey (lulo is very tart; taste and adjust)
- A sprig of hierbabuena (spearmint), optional (regular mint works; not peppermint, which is stronger)
- Ice, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the lulos in half and scoop out the pulp with a spoon, taking care not to include any of the peel: it is bitter. If you are using frozen pulp, skip this step.
- Put the pulp in the blender with the water or milk, the sugar or honey, the sprig of spearmint and the ice.
- Blend for about a minute, until smooth.
- Pass the juice through a strainer to catch the small hard seeds, which the blender does not break down. Frozen pulp is usually already seedless and needs no straining.
- Serve cold, and taste before you do: lulo varies a lot in acidity, so it may want more sugar.
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