99% of all orange juice you buy in the grocery store is generally 100% pure, from concentrate. If you look really hard, you can usually locate one or two brands that are 100% pure NOT from concentrate.
I tend to splurge and buy the 100% pure NOT from concentrate stuff, as I think it may be marginally better for me, as if it comes from real raw squezzed oranges. I am not sure about the process, but since it is usually a lot more money, that is what I assume.
What is the deal with this, one is 100% pure NOT from concentrate, and the other is still 100% pure, but made from a concentrate. Does this mean the one from concentrate adds plain water to it, to yield more orange juice, or any other juice for that matter?
What type of difference are we talking here, generally, the taste is not all that different, about the only time I can tell a real difference is if I squeeze the damn things myself. Is one way better than the other health wise, or is it marginal?
I’ve always thought that there is a very marked difference between juice made up from concentrate and natural squeezed, especially orange juice.
I think the main reason concentrate is used is because it is more economical to ship and store -you’re not having to transport, say, 90% of the product; I don’t think they make it more dilute than the original juice would have been. It’s kind of like shipping beach balls in their deflated state.
I am not talking about the frozen make it at home kind, the normal milk carton containers, both are already made, already liquid, so they are the same weight at that point.
From a manufacturing perspective I think you may be onto something, but outside of that, I was referring to ready to drink stuff.
I had a friend that worked in a shipping yard where he had an opportunity to see concentrated OJ. This stuff was very viscous, and undrink-(eat?)-able. He said it was about the consistance of tar.
Mangetout is correct in either case, whether discussing the canned frozen concentrate or the ready-to-drink cartons. In the former case, it is up to the end consumer to reconstitute the juice. In the latter, the concentrate is shipped from the producer to a local or regional packager, who reconstitutes it, packages it in the cartons and ships it to the stores. As mentioned, since most of the weight is from water, it’s cheaper to only ship the fully-reconstituted juice the last few miles from the packager to the store than from Florida to Iowa. That’s why not-from-concentrate juice tends to cost significantly more; the shipping costs are higher per unit.
As for the health matter, I refer you to David Bodanis’ excellent book, * The Secret Family *, in which he described OJ from concentrate as “a liquid which contains embalming fluid, varnish solvent, vinegar, and nail polish remover … and a certain amount of real orange juice, too.” I doubt that it’s particularly harmful, but I prefer my orange juice to be made of orange juice.