Strawberry Julius - Easy

This is the last in my mini-series of strawberry recipes, mostly because I finally used up the strawberries in the making of this cool drink.

Way way back in my undergrad days, I lived semi on campus at downtown NYU. I say semi, because there wasn't really a downtown NYU campus. The school back then only took up only a small part of The Village, and hadn't yet tried to swallow downtown whole. My dorm was a block from the closest thing to a quad --Washington Square Park.

And a couple blocks away was an Orange Julius. In case one isn't near you, Orange Julius is a smoothie type of joint similar to Jamba Juice. I haven't been to one pretty much since my ol' college days and was surprised that it is still in existence. I still remember the signature drink I had there at least twice a week after classes -- the Strawberry Julius. Of course.

Basil leaf, in case you were wondering.  I hate mint.

 At the time, I didn't know exactly what went into a Strawberry Julius. The franchise didn't have a web presence or an ingredients list back then. Luckily both exist and are easily accessible today. Here are the ingredients as posted on the official Julius website:

Flavor Enhancer:

Modified Whey Solids, Maltodextrin, Egg White Solids, Sugar, Karaya Gum, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Corn Syrup Solids, Guar Gum, Modified Food Starch, Dipotassium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Standardized with Dextrose.

Ice:
Water  

Orange Julius Sweetener:
High fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium benzoate (to protect taste).

Strawberries:
Strawberries, sugar.

Doesn't this just make your mouth water? :P I especially love how strawberries are far down in the list. About the only thing relatively natural is the ice.

Somewhere along the years I picked up the recipe that follows.

Many recipes on the intertubes use frozen strawberries packed in syrup. I just took my remaining strawbs, rinsed them, cut them up then popped them into the freezer for several hours. No need to defrost 'em. Nice and easy.

Notice that nowhere in my version is corn syrup listed. Or Karaya Gum (whatever that is). There is (are?), however, powdered egg whites.

It is very important to use powdered egg whites, especially while we are living in the age of salmonella. Yeah, I'm guilty of occasionally (and by occasionally I mean every. single. time) licking a spatula, especially after making brownies, but I rationalize that there's only 0.00001 (approximately) raw egg that adheres to it. And each serving of this drink calls for one. whole. egg. white. I really am nervous about consuming that much potential botulism so I caved and used the powdered stuff. Feel free to sub in fresh albumen. Just don't bother offering me any, thank you.

Strawberry Julius - Easy
yield: 2 tall servings

powdered egg whites, reconstituted to equal 2 egg whites
1 cup frozen strawberries (no need to defrost)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup ice cubes and/or crushed ice
1 cup cold water

Whisk together the powdered egg whites with warm water, as per manufacturer's directions, until lightly foaming.

Dump egg white mixture in a blender or food processor, along with remaining ingredients.

Process on high speed for 30 seconds to a minute, or until the decibels from the ice cubes reduce to a gentle whirling sound.  Carefully pour into 2 tall glasses.  Pop in a couple straws and serve immediately.

Burp!

Ignore all the previous photos and use wide straws like in the last shot.  Trust me, these babies are too thick for skinny-ass straws.