by Ellen van Roekel
Panache is a women-owned business based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities specializing in artisan, infused apple juices and hard ciders, using Ayurvedic recipes. With these health-conscious drinks, founder and CEO Ameeta Jaiswal aims to amplify the benefits of heirloom apples and support the market for regional orchards’ sustainable farming practices, as opposed to mass production of “table apples.”
With Panache, Ameeta is committed to maximizing nutritional benefits and creating 100% apple juice with no preservatives, added sugars, or chemical colors. Their apples are sourced from the region around La Crescent, MN and all of its surrounding ridges and valleys formed by the river beds of the Mississippi, St. Croix, Iowa and Kickapoo rivers. The infusions of ginger, mint, turmeric, and elderberry and their creative names tie back to Ameeta’s culture of origin in South Asia, focusing heavily on ayurveda—the food science that is part of the yoga philosophy and lifestyle.
The "cheeky zing" juice is ginger root infused in apple juice. This allows all of the beneficial properties of the ginger root to seep into the apple juice and provide the body with an immunity boost, thus making consumers feel more "cheeky.” A flash pasteurization process (the most simple and natural form of pasteurization) is used to create the juices. More recently, Panache began creating hard ciders using the same founding principles, through a double fermentation process.
The apple juices are available for retail purchase through Whole Foods, Lunds and Byerlys, Kowalski’s, a few local delis, as well as directly from the Panache website. The hard ciders are available at six locations throughout the Twin Cities area.
Launching the business in 2015, Ameeta currently works full-time, with a few-part time employees. As an immigrant, she found it shocking to see the lack of food availability in what was supposed to be one of the richest western countries. Ameeta saw a lack of whole foods, and a plethora of processed foods. This was inspiration, to add value to the entire fruits, all varieties, specifically heirloom apples, in making her products. She hopes to one day sell her products on a national scale, and eventually expand to produce apple port and brandy.
Learn more at local-feast.org/shop-panache
Ellen van Roekel is a senior at the University of Minnesota studying Nutrition and Public Health. She plans to attend graduate school for Healthcare Administration. Currently, she is volunteering for Renewing the Countryside where she participates in virtual meetings and interviews FEAST! vendors, and helps share their stories.