Nalo Juice’s syrups make healthful cool treats

Remember when Mom said you had to eat all your veggies and drink all your milk — “You want to get big and strong, don’t you?” — before you could have dessert?

Today’s mothers have one less thing to worry about when they pay a visit to the Nalo Juice stand in downtown Honolulu, where Kale Furuya and crew dish up cooling shave ice ($5) doused with their healthful syrups, cold-pressed juice blends made from 95 percent local produce, reduced to a syrup.

“They’re pretty sweet, but you can taste the natural flavors of the juice; you can taste every ingredient,” said Furuya, 23, the company’s chief executive officer, adding that the products contain no added sugar or water.

Nalo Juice’s main product line comprises juices and broths sold individually and in sets for fasting cleanses.

The company was considering ways to diversify its products when they came up with the idea of turning the juice blends into syrups. The relentless heat of the past weeks helped them arrive at making shave ice.

“We thought it would be a lot of fun for the customer to see us making the shave ice in front of them, while giving us one-on-one time to be more personalized,” Furuya said.

The kiosk carries three of five sy- rups on any given day. A few blends in the rotation: The Farm, a mixture of pineapple, cucumber and ‘Nalo Greens; Koolau Sunset, a combo of beet, watermelon and lemongrass; and Mokulua, made of watermelon, lilikoi and orange. Many of the blends include fresh coconut milk.

Furuya says the bottled syrups are available for purchase at their kiosk in two sizes: 12 ounces for $10 and 32 ounces for $20. He suggests using them in Italian sodas (see recipe below) and cocktails, as well as for flavoring shave ice.

Chef Craig King, who himself runs a juice-cleanse business, Glow Juice Hawaii, on Maui, creates numerous recipes for each fruit and vegetable Nalo Juice uses. Often Furuya holds informal taste tests with friends and customers to help decide which blends will make the menu.

King isn’t the only heavy hitter who’s lending a hand. Dean Okimoto’s ‘Nalo Farms serves as a sourcing agent, supplying the company with produce grown at the farm. What it does not grow, it helps the company find at other local farms.

Cold-press juicing derives maximum nutrients from produce. The company uses a 2-ton hydraulic press that extracts all the juices and micronutrients, leaving behind dry solids. Furuya says it takes 1 pound of fruits and vegetables to produce 12 ounces of juice.

Cold pressing preserves nutrients lost in the more common spin-force juicing; Furuya says spinning oxidizes juice, which results in a loss of nutrients.

Find Furuya and the Nalo Juice crew at their kiosk at 1000 Bishop St., outside the Cades and Schutte building, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; shave ice is served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They also set up shop at the Blaisdell farmers market, 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays; the Kapiolani Community College farmers market, 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturdays; the Ward Village monthly brunch events; and the Art & Flea Sunday Funday monthly market at Ward Warehouse. Visit nalojuice.com.

Nalo Juice Italian Soda

» 1-1/2 ounces Nalo Juice Mokulua syrup (watermelon, lilikoi and orange juice blend)
» Mint
» Ice
» Seltzer
» 1/2 ounce half-and-half

Place syrup in glass. Add mint and muddle with the syrup. Add ice then fill glass 3/4 of the way with seltzer. Add half-and-half.

Serve as is, with syrup at bottom of glass, and seltzer and half-and-half mixture at top. Stir before drinking. Serves 1.

Nutritional information unavailable.