Orange juice

For other uses, see Orange juice (disambiguation).

A glass of pulp-free orange juice

Orange juice refers to the juice of oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate. In American English, the slang term O.J. may also be used to refer to orange juice.

Due to the importance of oranges to the economy of the state of Florida, "the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids thereof" was adopted as the official beverage of Florida in 1967.

Health

A cup serving of raw, fresh orange juice, amounting to 248 g or 8 ounces, has 124 mg of vitamin C (>100% RDI). It has 20.8 g of sugars and has 112 Calories. It also supplies potassium, thiamin, and folate.

Citrus juices contain flavonoids (especially in the pulp), that may have health benefits. Orange juice is also a source of the antioxidant hesperidin. Due to its citric acid content, orange juice is acidic, with a typical pH of around 3.5.

Commercial orange juice and concentrate

Frozen concentrated orange juice

Film clip showing the production and packaging of frozen orange juice concentrate.

Commercial squeezed orange juice is pasteurized and filtered before being evaporated under vacuum and heat. After removal of most of the water, this concentrated juice, about 65% sugar by weight, is then stored at about 10 °F (−12 °C). Essences, Vitamin C, and oils extracted during the vacuum concentration process may be added back to restore flavor.(see additives, below)

When water is added to freshly thawed concentrated orange juice, it is said to be reconstituted.

The product was developed in 1948 at the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center. Since, it has emerged as a commodity product, and futures contracts have traded in New York since 1966. Options on FCOJ were introduced in 1985. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the product had the greatest orange juice market share, but not-from-concentrate juices surpassed FCOJ in the 1980s.

Not from concentrate

Orange juice that is pasteurized and then sold to consumers without having been concentrated is labeled as "not from concentrate". Just as "from concentrate" processing, most "not from concentrate" processing reduces the natural flavor from the juice. The largest producers of "not from concentrate" use a production process where the juice is placed in aseptic storage, with the oxygen stripped from it, for up to a year. A flavor pack is added in the final step to give the juice flavor. According to the citrus industry, the Food and Drug Administration does not require the contents of flavor packs to be detailed on a product's packaging.

Canned orange juice

A small fraction of fresh orange juice is canned. Canned orange juice retains Vitamin C much better than bottled juice. The canned product loses flavor, however, when stored at room temperature for more than 12 weeks.

Freshly squeezed, unpasteurized juice

Fresh orange juice

Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juice is the closest to consuming the orange itself. This version of the juice consists of oranges that are squeezed and then bottled without having any additives or flavor packs inserted. The juice is not subjected to pasteurization. Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juices are usually found in specialty food stores or at a grove that squeezes it. Fresh squeezed orange juice has a typical shelf life of 12 days. Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juices typically originate from small juicing operations, such as a local citrus grove. All other types of orange juice have either been heated or cooked, have additives, or are made from concentrate.

Major orange juice brands

In the U.S., the major orange juice brand is Tropicana Products (owned by PepsiCo Inc.), which possesses nearly 65% of the market share. Tropicana also has a large presence in Latin America, Europe, and Central Asia. Competing products include Minute Maid (of The Coca-Cola Company) and Florida's Natural (a Florida-based agricultural cooperative that differentiates itself from the competition by using only Florida grown oranges; Tropicana and Simply Orange use a mixture of domestic and foreign stock). In Australia, Daily Juice (owned by National Foods) is a major brand of partially fresh, partially preserved, orange juice.

In the United Kingdom, major orange juice brands include Del Monte and Princes.

Additives

Some producers add citric acid or ascorbic acid to juice beyond what is naturally found in the orange. Some also include other nutrients. Often, additional vitamin C is added to replace that destroyed in pasteurization. Additional calcium may be added. Vitamin D, not found naturally in oranges, may be added as well. Sometimes Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils are added to orange juice. Low-acid varieties of orange juice also are available.

Juice producers generally use evaporators to remove much of the water from the juice in order to decrease its weight and decrease transportation costs.

Because the process removes the distinct aroma compounds that give it a fresh-squeezed taste, producers later add back these compounds in a proprietary mixture, called a "flavor pack", in order to improve the taste and to ensure a consistent year-round taste. The compounds in the flavor packs are derived from orange peels. Producers do not mention the addition of flavor packs on the label of the orange juice.

Types of orange

A glass of blood orange juice.

Common orange juice is made from the sweet orange. Different cultivars (e.g. Valencia, Hamlin) have different properties, and a producer may mix cultivar juices to get a desired taste. Orange juice usually varies between shades of orange and yellow, although some ruby red or blood orange varieties are a reddish-orange or even pinkish. This is due to different pigmentation in ruby red oranges.

The blood orange is a mutant of the sweet orange. Blood orange juice is popular in Italy, but may be hard to find elsewhere. The Mandarin orange and varieties clementine and tangerine, are good for juice, and are often used for sparkling juice drinks.

Recently, many brands of organic orange juices have become available on the market.

Further reading

• Alissa Hamilton:Squeezed: What You Don't Know about Orange Juice , Yale Agrarian Studies, 2010, ISBN 0-300-16455-6

External links

• Orange juice production Production process and distinction between juice products
• Brief film clip of orange juice processing from 1968. From the State Library & Archives of Florida
• Natural orange juice processing Industrial processing of natural orange juice