When the afternoon heat sets in, a glass of something cold, green and sharp is hard to beat. The best cooling juices lean on cucumber, mint, citrus and other water-rich produce rather than piles of sweet fruit, so they taste light and clean instead of sugary.

Below are seven cooling juice recipes built around those flavours. Each one makes two glasses (roughly 500 to 600 ml in total, depending on how juicy your produce is). Most use a slow juicer for the whole fruit and vegetables and a citrus juicer for the lemons, limes and oranges.

A few tips before you start

  • Chill everything first. Juice made from cold produce tastes fresher and needs less ice.
  • Go easy on sweet fruit. Use cucumber, celery and leafy greens as the base and add apple, pear or pineapple for balance.
  • Add citrus last. A squeeze of lime or lemon brightens the flavour and helps keep the colour.
  • Drink it fresh. Fresh juice tastes best straight away. If you need to keep some, store it in a sealed jar in the fridge and drink it the same day.

Which juicer for which job?

For cucumbers, apples, pears, celery and herbs, a cold press juicer is the easiest option. With the Fridja f2500 Self Feeding Whole Fruit Juicer you drop the produce in whole, close the lid and it feeds itself, so there is no chopping or pushing. It is quiet, easy to clean, and can also make nut milk, sorbets and fruit ice cream.

For oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes, the Fridja f900 Automatic Citrus Juicer does the work for you: place the halved fruit inside, close the lid and the motor starts automatically.

7 cooling juice recipes

1. Cucumber, apple and mint cooler

  • 1 large cucumber
  • 2 green apples
  • A small handful of mint (about 10 leaves)
  • Juice of 1 lime

Juice the cucumber, apples and mint in the slow juicer, then stir in the lime juice. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint. This is the one to start with if you are new to green juice.

2. Watermelon and lime

  • 600 g watermelon flesh, cut into chunks
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 4 or 5 mint leaves

Juice the watermelon and mint, then add the lime. Watermelon is naturally sweet, so the lime keeps it from tasting flat. Pour into chilled glasses straight away, as watermelon juice separates if left to stand.

3. Grapefruit, orange and mint

  • 1 pink grapefruit
  • 2 oranges
  • A few mint leaves, lightly bruised

Halve the citrus and juice it in the citrus juicer. Drop the bruised mint into the jug, stir and leave for a few minutes before serving over ice. Sharp, a little bitter and very refreshing.

4. Cucumber, pear and lemon

  • 1 large cucumber
  • 2 ripe pears
  • Juice of half a lemon

Juice the cucumber and pears together, then add the lemon. The pear gives a soft, rounded sweetness that works well with the cucumber.

5. Pineapple, cucumber and mint

  • 300 g peeled pineapple
  • 1 cucumber
  • A small handful of mint

Juice everything in the slow juicer. Pineapple is quite sweet, so the cucumber does a lot of work here. Add a splash of chilled sparkling water if you want it lighter.

6. Celery, green apple and lime

  • 3 celery sticks
  • 2 green apples
  • Half a cucumber
  • Juice of 1 lime

Juice the celery, apples and cucumber, then stir in the lime. Savoury, crisp and only lightly sweet. If celery is new to you, start with two sticks.

7. Lemon and mint cooler

  • 3 lemons
  • 1 apple
  • A large handful of mint
  • 400 ml chilled water
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons honey (optional)

Juice the lemons in the citrus juicer. Juice the apple and mint in the slow juicer, which carries the mint flavour through. Combine with the chilled water, taste, and add a little honey only if you need it. Serve over plenty of ice.

Make it your own

  • Add ginger. A thumb of fresh ginger through the slow juicer adds warmth to recipes 1, 4 and 6.
  • Top up with sparkling water. It stretches the juice and makes it feel more like a summer drink.
  • Freeze leftovers. Pour any extra into ice cube trays and add the cubes to water or the next batch of juice.

Cleaning up quickly

The fastest way to keep juicing a habit is to clean the juicer straight away, before pulp dries on. Rinse the parts under the tap as soon as you finish. The f2500 is designed to be easy to clean, so it takes a couple of minutes.

More ideas

If you are choosing a juicer, read our guide to the best slow juicer in the UAE. For something smaller and punchier, try these juice shot recipes, and if you want a cold drink you can make at your desk, see our portable blender smoothies for the office. To start juicing, take a look at the f2500 Self Feeding Whole Fruit Juicer and the f900 Automatic Citrus Juicer.