Consciously Kosher

View Original

Homemade Hawaiian Fruit Punch

Michael Tanenbaum

ACTIVE PREP TIME: 5-10 MIN

PASSIVE PREP TIME: 30 MIN

When I was in college, I was addicted to Hawaiian Punch fruit punch. I would purchase it from the vending machine in my dormitory and drink it almost every day. Little did I know how dreadfully unhealthy this punch was – and how much refined sugar, artificial flavors and synthetic colors it contained!

Hawaiian Fruit Punch: A Nightmare Of Artificial Flavors

Here are the ingredients for Hawaiian Fruit Punch Juicy Red, the flavor that I most likely drank in the early 1990s:

Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, And Less Than 2% Of: Concentrated Juices (apple, Clarified Pineapple, Passionfruit, Orange), Fruit Purees (apricot, Papaya, Guava), Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C), Citric Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Pectin, Acacia Gum, Ester Gum, Red 40, Blue 1, Sucralose, Potassium Sorbate And Sodium Hexametaphosphate (preservatives).

I won’t bore you with the reasons why most of these ingredients are junk. This is just common sense.

But there is a much more sensible, healthy and consciously kosher way to make a fruit punch that is reminiscent of that treacly Hawaiian Fruit Punch Juicy Red.

Why Make Your Own Hawaiian Fruit Punch?

Homemade fruit punch is refreshing and nutritious. It is also incredibly simple to make. And it comes from a source hidden in plain view within your fridge: The overabundance of fruits that sneak up on us each week.

In my fridge this week, we’ve got apples, nectarines, peaches, even a few squishy pluots and apricots. Rather than allowing all that delicious organic fruit to ripen too much and then throwing it away, why not cook it into what the Eastern Europeans call kompot? This refreshing homemade beverage is quite popular in Eastern Europe and the Slavic countries. It is made by boiling the fruit in water, then straining and drinking the infused syrupy liquid.

What Are The Nutritional Benefits Of This Homemade Punch?

There are two major benefits to making your own Hawaiian Punch fruit punch, a.k.a. kompot:

  1. It’s a super-healthy and refreshing alternative to sodas, store-bought fruit juices, sweetened juice-like beverages and other sugary drinks

  2. It’s eco-conscious, as you avoid throwing away fruit that has gotten too ripe to eat fresh

In addition, there are various vitamins and minerals that get transferred from the fruit to the water, including vitamin C, antioxidants, magnesium and potassium. These of course will vary by the fruits that you choose to cook.

The Ingredients

The ingredients are approximate.

  • 1/2 gallon water (filtered or spring)

  • 3 large Ceylon cinnamon sticks

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves

  • 1/8 tsp ground allspice

  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 2-3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or substitute raw honey)

  • 6-10 ripe and pitted fruits, including but not limited to peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, apricots, apples (Fuji or Gala), Asian pears and strawberries

The 5 Steps To Making Homemade Hawaiian Punch Kompot

  1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil

  2. Pour in the coconut sugar and the spices

  3. Wash the fruit well, slice it in halves (or quarters), remove the pits and/or seeds and add the fruit to the boiling water mixture

  4. Simmer for 30-40 minutes with the lid slightly ajar, then remove from the heat and let it cool

  5. Filter the liquid from the fruit, using a fine mesh sieve

  6. Bottle the liquid and serve chilled

  7. Serve the fruit with non-dairy yogurt or parve ice cream

By enormous contrast to the artificial Hawaiian Punch that I guzzled in college, the minimal amount of sugar in this beverage (it comes out to about a teaspoon for every cup of water) gives it some sweetness to complement the mild tartness of the infused liquid. In addition to adding some flavor, the sugar acts as a maceration agent to pull water, flavor and aroma out of the fruit. (Pickling, ceviche and vanilla extract work in much the same way.) The maceration process not only infuses the fruit with flavor from the water mixture; it also infuses the liquid with flavor and nutrients from the fruit. In this case, the result is a healthy Hawaiian Punch substitute.

As for the fruit that remains, it goes very well with plain cashew yogurt as a snack or a dessert.

A Healthy, Kosher And Refreshing Drink

Making a Hawaiian Punch-themed kompot supplants the need for soft drinks and fruit juice, both of which destroy teeth and spike blood sugar. This beverage consists of a few basic ingredients, all of which are natural. There are no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, no high-fructose corn syrup and no fruit juice concentrates. And it’s wonderful for kids.

I wish I had known about this healthy Hawaiian Punch substitute when I was in college!