ITO EN Fruit and Vegetable Juice

Something I'm always leery of is fruit and vegetable juices. I've never been a fan of veggie juices like V8, and when V8 launched their V-Fusion line, I'd finally found a vegetable juice I could moderately tolerate. The problem with them, though, was that I couldn't get past the nasty taste of sweet potatoes and carrots, two vegetables I absolutely cannot stand.

So then, while visiting Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York City, I happened across ITO EN fruit and vegetable juice. It came in a small 11.5 ounce plastic bottle, and with a sigh I figured I'd be a sport and give it a try. After all, I'd liked it as a Kit Kat flavor, so why not try the real thing?

The juice itself was actually really good. It was bright orange in color, and its fruit and vegetable pulps gave it a pretty decent body. While the dominating flavors were carrots and apples, there was still something about it I found enjoyable. I wasn't brave enough to look at the ingredients while I was drinking it, but instead decided to take a look after all was said and done. And while there were the regular suspects in the mix - white grapes, sweet potatoes, and pear juice, to name a few - there were others that took me completely by surprise. Vegetables such as radishes, horseradish root, and spinach were among the extensive ingredient list. I was shocked to find out how much I actually enjoyed this juice.

ITO EN takes great pride in their vegetable juices. According to their English webpage, their Jujitsu Yasai, or "Vegetables Galore" line, was launched in 1992 and was based on the concept of mixing fruit and vegetable juices to make them easier to drink.

Link: ITO EN's Product Line (English)