Daily Photo: Thursday, Jan. 14
One of our favorite juices in Ecuador was jugo de mora. Purple heaven in a glass, I tell ya!
I made mora juice on an almost weekly basis (if not more) in Shell. I had a "mora man" who came by my house each week selling mora and strawberries. I usually spent about $2 dollars on a pound or two of strawberries and a pound or two of mora. Then I'd make juice concentrate from the mora and freeze it for later use. (The strawberries were usually washed and cut and frozen as well). We also loved to order mora juice when we went out to eat. Somehow, the Ecuadorians made it even better....they probably used twice as much sugar!
Anyway, it never really occurred to me that I could make it here. I don't know why (well, yes I do - because somebody told me) but I though that mora was something only available in Latin America. I had a light-bulb moment, though when I noticed that blackberries look exactly like mora. South American mora are blackberries...they are slightly bigger down there and much cheaper but that's pretty much the only difference.
It's kinda like discovering that oranges exist outside of Florida. Am I really that dumb, you may ask? Yes.
Anyway, moving right along, I bought some frozen blackberries yesterday and whipped up some mora (a.k.a. blackberry) juice last night. Ahhhhh....yes. They are the same thing!
When you aren't drinking coffee (only temporarily, but that's another story) mora juice is - for me - almost as comforting as a hot cuppa joe.
A glass of mora in the morning during my quiet time....
Here's how to make it...
Buy some blackberries.
Put them in a pot or pan and cover with water (not too much water or your juice will be weak). Boil for a good long time - 15 minutes or so...or more if you're like me and forget that you have something on the stove boiling. Just be careful, though, because the juice stains stovetops and it tends to splatter everywhere when it's boiling. You do NOT want this boiling over - you'll have a huge mess! Trust me. I know.
Put the boiled berries and the juice made from boiling them in the blender and blend them up real good until you have a thick juice.
Pour the juice through a mesh strainer to get out all the big seeds.
You now have a mora/blackberry juice concentrate. Add water and sugar or sweetener to your taste (we used Truvia last night and it works fine). Be careful not to add too much water or your juice will be too weak and you won't be able to taste the blackberries.
Feel free to put the juice back in the blender to make it good and frothy!
Enjoy!
I made mora juice on an almost weekly basis (if not more) in Shell. I had a "mora man" who came by my house each week selling mora and strawberries. I usually spent about $2 dollars on a pound or two of strawberries and a pound or two of mora. Then I'd make juice concentrate from the mora and freeze it for later use. (The strawberries were usually washed and cut and frozen as well). We also loved to order mora juice when we went out to eat. Somehow, the Ecuadorians made it even better....they probably used twice as much sugar!
Anyway, it never really occurred to me that I could make it here. I don't know why (well, yes I do - because somebody told me) but I though that mora was something only available in Latin America. I had a light-bulb moment, though when I noticed that blackberries look exactly like mora. South American mora are blackberries...they are slightly bigger down there and much cheaper but that's pretty much the only difference.
It's kinda like discovering that oranges exist outside of Florida. Am I really that dumb, you may ask? Yes.
Anyway, moving right along, I bought some frozen blackberries yesterday and whipped up some mora (a.k.a. blackberry) juice last night. Ahhhhh....yes. They are the same thing!
When you aren't drinking coffee (only temporarily, but that's another story) mora juice is - for me - almost as comforting as a hot cuppa joe.
A glass of mora in the morning during my quiet time....
Here's how to make it...
Buy some blackberries.
Put them in a pot or pan and cover with water (not too much water or your juice will be weak). Boil for a good long time - 15 minutes or so...or more if you're like me and forget that you have something on the stove boiling. Just be careful, though, because the juice stains stovetops and it tends to splatter everywhere when it's boiling. You do NOT want this boiling over - you'll have a huge mess! Trust me. I know.
Put the boiled berries and the juice made from boiling them in the blender and blend them up real good until you have a thick juice.
Pour the juice through a mesh strainer to get out all the big seeds.
You now have a mora/blackberry juice concentrate. Add water and sugar or sweetener to your taste (we used Truvia last night and it works fine). Be careful not to add too much water or your juice will be too weak and you won't be able to taste the blackberries.
Feel free to put the juice back in the blender to make it good and frothy!
Enjoy!
mmmm yum I'll have to try..
ReplyDeleteThat mora juice brings back memories. Tomorrow we head to Shell with a team of 14 people to work at Esperanza School and Casa de Fe. We will drink a few glasses of that mora and think of you guys.
ReplyDeleteOmer & MJ Troyer
Izzie - yes, definitely try it!
ReplyDeleteOmer and MJ - have a GREAT time in Shell. Wish we could come along!
Yum yum. I LOVE anything mora! my parents brought me some Mora-flavored Amor cookies the last time we saw them :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know they were exactly the same as blackberries - for some reason i thought they were a bit different. Oh well! Glad you have found a way to enjoy your tasty more juice there in the States!!!
Sarah, I always thought mora was different than blackberries too. The mora berries in Ecuador seem bigger and sweeter than the blackberries here do. Maybe they are slightly different - but blackberries are a fine substitute!
ReplyDelete