# 100% juice. How do they cancel out the other juice flavors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871 "2013-03-03T02:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/1 "2013-03-03T02:06:01Z")
Whenever I look at the ingredients of any of those “100%” juices, the main juice is never the juice of the fruit it tastes like. I’m having some tangerine/mango 100% juice right now, but the first 3 ingrdients are apple, grape, and then pear juice. Tangerine and mango juice are at the bottom of the list. This has no flavor whasoever of apple, grape, or pear juice. Nor does it taste like any combination of those. It tastes like tangerine and mango, and nothing else. How do they do that? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/2 "2013-03-03T02:10:30Z")
maybe tangerine and mango are just stronger flavors to our palette and tend to naturally overpower the other flavors. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/3 "2013-03-03T02:13:44Z")
My guess is that it isn’t 100percent juice, and you are misreading the label where it says: “MADE WITH” 100 percent juice. And the mango flavor you are detecting is a concentrated added natural or artificial flavor. But that’s just my guess ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/4 "2013-03-03T02:18:05Z")
Here is the ingredient list: Fruit juices from concentrate (filtered water, concentrated apple &/or grape &/or pear & tangerine juices), mango puree concentrate, natural flavour, citric acid (for tartness), vitamin C. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/5 "2013-03-03T02:25:34Z")
So would you consider my response correct? It seems I might be right in my guess; but I’m not completely confident myself on that. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/6 "2013-03-03T02:26:16Z")
The humor site [Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) often does stories that are funny and truthful (not unlike the SD). [Here’s one about how orange juice is made](http://www.cracked.com/article_19433_the-6-most-horrifying-lies-food-industry-feeding-you.html) (scroll down to number #5). Basically what it says is that, although it’s still 100% orange juice, \*\*\*\*\*all \*\*\*\*\*of the flavor is artificial! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/7 "2013-03-03T02:29:13Z")
Well, the “natural flavor” in that ingredient list could be just about anything. And note, ingredients are listed in order from the mostest to the leastest, by quantity (however that is measured). But ingredients like flavorings or food colorings or spices take only minute quantities to have a big effect on the taste or look of the product. So even though “natural flavor” is way down the ingredient list, it could well be the major contributor to the final flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/8 "2013-03-03T02:29:44Z")
The main components don’t have much to them other than sugar and water. Very weak flavor compared to, say, mango. They’re mostly just there to add lots of sugar. It’s a gimmick to trick gullible consumers. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/9 "2013-03-03T02:55:34Z")
Apple, pear, and grape juice don’t have a lot of flavor, and the flavor isn’t very distinctive. The flavor of the tangerine is much stronger and more distinct, as is the mango. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/10 "2013-03-03T02:56:58Z")
“Fruit juices from concentrate (filtered water, concentrated apple &/or grape &/or pear & tangerine juices)” could also easily be “Fruit juices from concentrate (filtered water, **plus an almost insignificantly small amount of** concentrated apple &/or grape &/or pear & tangerine juices)” so that people who look at the ingredients don’t say “Hey! This is mostly water!” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/11 "2013-03-03T02:58:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Well, the “natural flavor” in that ingredient list could be just about anything. Like beef? Beef is in a lot of stuff you’d never imagine it to be. Like KFC. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/12 "2013-03-03T03:00:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Apple, pear, and grape juice don’t have a lot of flavor, and the flavor isn’t very distinctive. The flavor of the tangerine is much stronger and more distinct, as is the mango. To add to that, apple, pear and (white) grape juice are really just used as sweeteners. It gives them a way to sweeten the juice without adding sugar/corn syrup/HFCS. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/13 "2013-03-03T03:04:15Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > It tastes like tangerine and mango, and nothing else. Thing is, you probably don’t know what tangerine juice or mango juice is supposed to taste like. I like cranberries, for example, but I hate the cloying sweetness of what is sold as “cranberry juice”. So I bought some cranberry concentrate and dilute it myself. Tastes NOTHING like store-sold so-called “cranberry juice”. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/14 "2013-03-03T03:15:31Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Like beef? Beef is in a lot of stuff you’d never imagine it to be. Like KFC. :eek: I thought that was horse. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/15 "2013-03-03T03:16:20Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Thing is, you probably don’t know what tangerine juice or mango juice is supposed to taste like. Yes I do. I’ve eaten fresh tangerines and mangos. But after reading some of the cites on this thread I’m wondering if their insides were scooped out and replaced with the gel from pureed Chuckles. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/16 "2013-03-03T03:28:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Apple, pear, and grape juice don’t have a lot of flavor, and the flavor isn’t very distinctive. The flavor of the tangerine is much stronger and more distinct, as is the mango. This. Most people don’t really know how taste works. It is common for a synthesized flavor to end up as everything from raspberry to tangerine to black cherry, depending on what it’s mixed with and what they put on the label. Taste is as much in the expectation as in any real flavor. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/17 "2013-03-03T04:07:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To add to that, apple, pear and (white) grape juice are really just used as sweeteners. It gives them a way to sweeten the juice without adding sugar/corn syrup/HFCS. This. Apple, pear and white grape juice are all used as “below the radar” sugar in products that want to be “all natural” or “100% juice.” These juices already contain the same, or more in the case of grape juice, sugar as Coca-Cola. Furthermore, they can be refined to the point that their identifying components are stripped out, rendering them into what is basically sugar water. The juice you have is basically a sugar solution with a splash of mango. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/18 "2013-03-03T04:08:52Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To add to that, apple, pear and (white) grape juice are really just used as sweeteners. It gives them a way to sweeten the juice without adding sugar/corn syrup/HFCS. This. I can’t find the cite at the moment, but it was recently mentioned in another thread that apple and pear (and maybe white grape, but I don’t recall that one specifically) are so very much “concentrated” that what they end up with is…high fructose (fruit) syrup. When they list it the way it is on that label, the water added in may not actually reconstitute the “concentrate” to natural fruit juice percentages. It’s water, high fructose syrup, fruit juice and flavors. Which is why juice you juice at home always seems weaker than store bought juice. It is. It’s a big fucking labeling scam, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-juice-how-do-they-cancel-out-the-other-juice-flavors/651871/19 "2013-03-03T05:57:54Z")
Just like high fructose corn syrup is in everything because corn in the US is so plentiful, so, too, apple/grape/pear juice. Plentiful, and thus, cheap. Now if you wanted 100% pure mango juice, that’ll cost you much more. Mangos aren’t plentiful. And even if it were 100% mango joice, it’d still be fructose, water, and some mango solids. Which is what you get with the less-than-100% mango juice… only the fructose is from some other fruit.