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Ditakh juice
Jus de ditakh: the sweet-sour green fruit juice of Dakar and Casamance
When the round, brown-shelled ditakh fruit comes into the markets of Dakar and Casamance, juice sellers turn its bright green, fibrous pulp into one of Senegal's most refreshing drinks. Ditakh grows on a wild tree of the region and is famously rich in vitamin C; its juice is vivid green, tart and fruity, somewhere between green apple, lime and tamarind. The pulp clings to a fibrous stone, so it is soaked and rubbed off by hand, then strained and sweetened. Outside Senegal look for frozen ditakh pulp in African shops; there is no real substitute. A frequent slip is blending the stones with the pulp, which makes the juice bitter. Chef's tip: work the flesh with your fingers rather than a blender, because blending crushes the bitter fibres and stone into the juice.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb ditakh fruitshells cracked off, or 500 g frozen ditakh pulp, thawed
- 6 ¼ cups cold water
- 5 ½ oz sugaror to taste
- ice cubes (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put the peeled 1 ¾ lb ditakh fruit in a large bowl with 4 ¼ cups cold water (1 litre) and leave to soak until the flesh softens.
10 minStep 2: Squeeze and rub the fruit between your fingers to strip the green pulp from the stones and fibres. Lift out the stones.
Step 3: Strain through a fine sieve, pressing the pulp through with a spoon, and rinse the sieve contents with the remaining 2 cups cold water to get every bit of flavour. Discard the fibres.
Step 4: Stir in 5 ½ oz sugar and 1 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract until dissolved and taste for sweetness.
Step 5: Serve very cold over ice cubes. Keeps 2 days in the fridge; the colour dulls after that.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ditakh juice take?
- About 20 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract?
- Vanilla bean paste, same amount.
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