Orange juice is a popular beverage made from 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. The term "orange juice" or "OJ" is also used, both colloquially and commercially, to refer to all of these forms.
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A typical serving of orange juice has 120 mg of vitamin C (>100% RDI). It has 21 g of sugars and has 110 calories, both close to a can of soda. 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.[1]
Common orange juice is made from the sweet orange. Different cultivars (e.g. Valencia, Hamlin) have different properties, and a producer may mix juices to get the desired taste.
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 taste of the juice is different, and some claim that these are the best type of orange to make juice from.
The Mandarin orange (likely the parent of the sweet orange), and varieties clementine and tangerine, are good for juice. They are often used for sparkling juice drinks. In the US, tangerine juice can be obtained with some difficulty.
Other types of orange may be more used for their peel or essential oils.
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 and oils extracted during the vacuum concentration process may be added back to restore flavor.
Cans of frozen concentrate are later diluted by addition of filtered water bringing the sugar fraction down to 42%, about three times the concentration of fresh juice. When water is added to freshly thawed concentrated orange juice, it is said to be reconstituted.[2]
Most of the orange juice sold today throughout the world is reconstituted juice. Frozen orange juice concentrate is a common drink in the United States.
Orange juice that is pasteurized and then sold to consumers without having been concentrated is labeled as "not from concentrate". Just like "from concentrate" processing, most "not from concentrate" processing destroys the juice's natural flavor. 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.[3]
A small fraction of fresh orange juice is canned. Canned orange juice retains Vitamin C much better than bottled juice..[4] However, the canned product loses flavor when stored at room temperature for over 12 weeks.[5]
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. Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juices are usually found in specialty food stores. It has a typical shelf life of 12 days. All other types of juce have either been heated, have additives, or are from concentrate. Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juices typically originate from smaller juicing operations, such as a local citrus grove.
In the US, 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 mix of domestic and foreign stock). In Australia, Daily Juice (owned by National Foods) is a major brand of partially fresh partially preserved[6] orange juice. The Original Juice Co. (owned by Golden Circle) produced a fresh no-concentrate (with no preservatives) form of juice marketed as part of their 'Black Label' range of juice products. Both these products, along with other brands, are sold in the refrigerated section of supermarkets throughout Australia.
Some producers add citric acid or ascorbic acid to juice beyond what is naturally found in the orange. Some also include other nutrients such as calcium and Vitamin D, not found naturally in oranges. Low-acid varieties of orange juice are also available. Omega-3 fatty acids are sometimes added to orange juice from fish oils.[7]
Juice producers generally use evaporators to remove much of the water from the juice in order to decrease its weight and decrease transportation costs.[8] Because the process removes the 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.[8][9] The compounds in the flavor packs are derived from orange peels.[9] Producers do not mention the addition of flavor packs on the label of the orange juice.[9]
Orange juice usually varies between shades of orange and yellow, though some ruby red or blood orange varieties are a reddish-orange or even pinkish.[10] This is due to different pigmentation in ruby red oranges. The name 'orange juice' is thus given to the drink because of the name of the fruit it is made from, rather than the actual color of the juice.
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