aloe drink

A few weeks ago my husband brought home a small bottle of aloe water from the grocery store, out of pure curiosity. It had a slightly sweet, tangy flavor. I read the ingredients: aloe gel, sugar, water, something else. I thought: I could probably make that. And I have this older plant which I think will never right itself.

So I looked it up. Lots of instructions out there. And cautions: you shouldn't drink aloe all the time- it can be an overly effective purgative. It does appear to have health benefits, although many purported healing uses are still unproven.... Well the main ingredient here is aloe gel, same amount of any citrus juice, water and a sweetener. I tried it.

First remove the small spines from the leaf edges.

Then slice off the top skin of the leaf.

Cut the gel out by sliding the knife blade underneath. It's actually referred to as cutting a gel fillet.

I cut open four leaves, they weren't full size so I only got a few tablespoons of gel.

Mixed with equal amount of lemon juice, added a few cups of water and blended it smooth in the food processor. Stirred in some honey for sweetener. It was pretty refreshing. Next time I think a little less citrus.

Not something I will do too often, but I did want to try another use for my aloe plant. I have enough babies around- one alone which recently got a larger pot,

these three together, growing quickly,

and the big plant has another pup just emerging.

So I have enough aloes growing, I'm not going to bother trying to save this large one from its collapse, but simply find uses for it and let the younger ones grow to take its place.