Written about us – Andrijana Glišić – Agroklub magazine

Green grain juice is not a medicine, but it helps balance the body

Green juices contain a wealth of vitamins, minerals and enzymes and affect the whole body, yet this is no medicine or magic potion, just an effective juice that supports a balanced diet, says Klementina Kovač Nemet.

It is well known that grains are processed and that we consume them in all sorts of products. Drinking grain juice, however, is a rarity. In the far north of Vojvodina, in Palić, the Nemet family has been making exactly these kinds of drinks for 13 years now.

They say green grain juices came into their home because of the health problems of one family member. At first they bought them in Hungary, but after the company that made them closed down, they decided to keep the tradition of spelt and barley juices alive in Serbia themselves.

“To achieve the best quality, we use only organic seed and the finest humus to grow spelt. This wheat is full of cellulose fibres, so specialised presses are needed to separate those fibres from the raw juice. That is exactly the technology we use in our production. Six years ago we also acquired our first flash-freezing machine, which helps keep the product fresh”, explains Klementina Kovač Nemet on behalf of “Zeleno Žito Nemet”.

The juices are tested in laboratories

It took five years to perfect the production technique and reach the right quality. The seed itself is grown in soil, then goes into a drying room, and after that into warm beds where it is planted in small quantities. Once the leaves sprout to 15 cm, they are cut and the juice is pressed from the plant through a cold-pressing process.

“Grains are very delicate, spelt especially, sensitive to mould and to a great many things. This plant has a lot of cellulose fibre that our body cannot digest well, so we have to remove that fibre if we want to make use of all the juice's benefits. After pressing, we pour the liquid into moulds and flash-freeze it. We always send the juices for testing to accredited laboratories to be sure that we are putting a high-quality, health-safe product on the market.”

Not a medicine but an effective juice

Green juices contain a wealth of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that affect the whole body, but, our interviewee notes, this is not a medicine or a magic potion, just an effective juice that supports a balanced diet.

“According to scientists, the older a plant's genetic code, the better it will affect our health. This good old Hungarian wheat, spelt, has beneficial effects. Nowadays, because of spraying and other changes in agricultural production, we are losing much of the quality of our food. Our body wears down, we are under stress, we do not watch our diet and we do not drink enough fluids, and so a deficit sets in. This can balance that deficit a little, so that our body regains its strength,” explains Kovač Nemet.

Sweet juice from spelt, bitter from barley

As for the taste, she says it resembles young peas or sweetcorn. The taste of grass dominates, and the spelt juice itself is very sweet, while the barley one is bitter.

“Spelt is a very sweet plant. Many people ask us whether we add sweeteners, but we add nothing. Barley juice is very bitter. People who have stomach trouble or gastritis tolerate barley better than spelt even though it is bitter, and that is probably down to its composition, as barley is easier to digest than spelt.”

A hidden hallmark that vouches for quality

The green juices have found their way to local consumers in a number of cities across Serbia, most often in health-food shops and pharmacies. As Kovač Nemet says, before going to a shop, customers first call her to ask whether it really is a local, quality product.

“People often call us to ask how they can be sure they have bought our very product, and we then direct them to check the hidden hallmark on the packaging. We introduced it because of the large number of counterfeits that appeared on the market, to protect the product and our name”, our interviewee notes.

Non grata in EU countries

Outside Serbia, they have so far placed their products in Croatia as well. However, since the coronavirus appeared in Serbia, problems with exporting the juices have arisen too.

“A great deal of paperwork is required and many other conditions must be met before exporting can even begin. We have a few more countries in our plans. From January this year we were in talks with Hungary, Austria and North Macedonia, and we had to break them off because of this coronavirus situation. The problem is that European Union countries do not like to work with Serbia because we are not in the EU. They say, 'we know the quality is good, but when the end customer sees that it is from Serbia, they do not want to buy it.'”

The whole family takes part in the production, she notes, adding that otherwise they would not have made a success of this story. Agroklub's interviewee even dropped out of university to devote herself to the family business and to uphold the quality, the name and the long-standing standard her father had built.