How orange juice is made (2023)

background

Orange juice is defined in the United States Code of Federal Regulations as "unfermented juice obtained from ripe oranges of the speciesCitrine sinensisor the citrus hybrid commonly referred to as Ambersweet.” True fresh-squeezed juice is difficult to market because it requires special processing to preserve it. Liquid that has been concentrated and then diluted before sale, or as a single strength non-concentrated drink called NFC or non-concentrated. The last two types are also known as ready-to-drink (RTD) juices.

Citrus fruits like oranges have been cultivated in southern China and Southeast Asia for 4,000 years. One variety, lemon, was brought to the Middle East sometime between 400 and 600 AD.BC.Between AD 100 and 700, Arab traders transported oranges to East Africa and the Middle East.NOTICE., and during the Arab occupation of Spain, citrus fruits first made their way to southern Europe. From there, explorers brought them to the New World, where they spread to Florida and Brazil in the 16th century. In the 1800s, citrus fruits reached global distribution. In the 1890s, demand for it increased dramatically after doctors discovered that drinking orange juice or other citrus fruits could prevent scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin deficiencies.

Orange juice's popularity again increased dramatically with the development of the commercial orange juice industry in the late 1920's. In its early days, the juice industry relied primarily on salvaged fruit unfit for processing. colored or with defects. In the 1930s, the development of porcelain-lined cans and advances in pasteurization techniques improved the quality of the juice and the industry expanded significantly. Then, in 1944, scientists found a way to concentrate and freeze fruit juice under vacuum without destroying the flavor or vitamin content. Frozen juice concentrates were first sold in the United States between 1945 and 1946 and became widely available and popular. After World War II, most Americans stopped pressing their own juice, and concentrated juice became the dominant form. With the advent of home refrigerators, frozen concentrate became even more popular. The demand for frozen juice has had a profound impact on the citrus industry, fueling the growth of Florida's citrus groves. Frozen concentrates remained the most popular form until 1985 when NFC and reconstituted juices outsold the frozen type. In 1995, not-from-concentrate juices accounted for 37% of the North American market. This compared to reconstituted juice which had about 39% of the market. Today, commercial aseptic packaging allows RTD juices to be marketed without refrigerated storage. The current global orange juice market is over US$2.3 billion, with the largest territory being the United States, followed by Canada, Western Europe and Japan.

raw materials

fruit

The main ingredient in orange juice is, of course, oranges. Oranges belong to the rue family (Rutaceae) and citrus fruits belong to the genusCitrine.Along with all citrus fruits, oranges are a special type of berry that botanists call hesperidium. Popular orange varieties include navel, tangerine, and valence. A blend of different types of oranges is usually used to achieve a specific flavor and ensure there is no bitterness. The selection of oranges for the juice is based on a number of factors such as the variety and ripeness of the fruit. Fruit contains a number of natural materials that contribute to the overall flavor and texture of the juice, including water, sugars (principally sucrose, fructose, and glucose), organic acids (principally citric, malic, and tartaric), and flavorings (including various esters). , alcohols, ketones, lactones and hydrocarbons).

other additives

Preservatives like sulfur dioxide or sodium benzoate are allowed in orange juice federally, although levels are tightly controlled. Likewise, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, EDTA, BHA or BHT are used as antioxidants. Sweeteners in the form of corn syrup, dextrose, honey, or even artificial sweeteners can be added. More commonly, however, citric acid is added to provide acidity.

Manufacturers can also fortify juices with additional vitamins or additional nutrients, such as vitamin C and, less commonly, vitamins A and E, and beta-carotene. (Beta-carotene is naturally present in oranges, but only in small amounts.) There are some concerns about the stability of these added vitamins, as they don't survive the heating process very well. Calcium is also often added to orange juice in the form of tricalcium phosphate.

The manufacture
procedure

Harvest/Collection

• 1 Oranges are harvested in large plantations. Some citrus growers are members of cooperative packaging and marketing associations, while others are independent growers. When the ripe fruit is ready to be picked, a team of pickers is sent out to pluck the fruit from the trees. The harvested fruits are sent to packing centers where they are packaged for sale as whole fruits or sent to factories for juice processing. Oranges are usually transported by truck to a juice factory, where they are unloaded by gravity onto a conveyor belt that transports the fruit to a storage bin.

cleaning/classification

• 2 Fruit must be checked and sorted before use. An inspector takes an 18 kg (39.7 lb) sample for analysis to ensure the fruit meets maturity requirements for processing. The certified fruit is then transported on a conveyor where it is washed with detergent passed through rotating brushes. This process removes debris and dirt and reduces microbial counts. The fruits are washed and dried. Sorters remove spoiled fruit as it passes through the rollers, and the remaining quality pieces are automatically sorted by size before extraction. The right size is crucial for the extraction process.

extraction

• 3 Proper juicing is important to optimize the efficiency of the juicing process as well as the quality of the finished beverage. That's because oranges have thick peels that contain bitter resins that must be carefully separated to avoid contaminating the sweeter juice. There are two automated extraction methods commonly used by the industry. The first places the fruit between two metal cups with sharp metal tubes at their base. The top cup lowers and the fingers of each cup fit together to squeeze out the juice as the tubes poke holes in the top and bottom of the fruit. The fruit solids are compressed in the lower tube between the two peel plugs while the juice exits through perforations in the tube wall. At the same time, a jet of water washes the oil from the bowl. This oil is recovered for later use.

  In the second type of extraction, the oranges are halved before juicing. The fruit is cut past a stationary knife, then the halves are picked up with rubber pads and moved against serrated plastic reamers. Rotary reamers squeeze out the juice as the orange halves travel down the conveyor.

  

  When the ripe fruit is ready to be picked, a team of pickers remove the fruit from the trees. After harvesting, the fruit is sent to factories for juice processing. Before extraction, the fruits are cleaned and sorted.

  Some of the oil in the skin can be removed prior to extraction by piercing the skin with needles, releasing the washed-off oil. Modern extraction devices of this type can cut, sink and eject a shell in about 3 seconds.
• 4 The extracted juice is filtered through a stainless steel sieve before being ready for the next step. At this point the juice can be chilled or concentrated if destined for a reconstituted beverage. If it is NFC type, it can be pasteurized.

concentration

• 5 Concentrated juice extract is approximately five times more concentrated than pressed juice. Diluted with water, it is used to make frozen juice and many RTD drinks. The concentration is useful because it extends the juice's shelf life and makes it more economical to store and ship. The juice is commonly concentrated using equipment known as a thermally accelerated flash evaporator, or SABOR for short. TASTE uses steam to heat the juice under vacuum and force the water to evaporate. The concentrated juice is sent to a vacuum blast chiller, which lowers the product temperature to approximately 55.4°F (13°C). A newer method of concentration requires minimal heat treatment and is used commercially in Japan. The pulp is separated from the juice by ultrafiltration and pasteurized. The clarified juice containing the volatile flavors is concentrated at 50°F (10°C) by reverse osmosis and the concentrate and pulp are recombined to produce the correct juice concentration. The taste of this concentrate has been found to be superior to what is commercially available in the United States and approximates that of fresh juice. The concentrated juice is then stored in refrigerated bulk stainless steel tanks until ready to be packaged or reconstituted.

Restoration

• 6 When the juicer is ready to prepare commercial packaging for retail sale, the concentrate is extracted from multiple storage batches and blended with water to achieve the desired sugar/acid ratio, color and flavor. This step must be carefully controlled as much of the juice's flavor can be lost during the concentration process. Proper blending of juice concentrate and other flavor fractions is required to ensure that the final juice product achieves a high quality flavor.

pasteurization

• 7 Thanks to its low pH (around 4), orange juice has some natural protection against this

  

  In an automated process, the juice is extracted from the orange and at the same time the peel is removed in one step.

  Growth of bacteria, yeast and mold. However, pasteurization is still required to further retard spoilage. Pasteurization also inactivates certain enzymes that cause the pulp to separate from the juice, resulting in an aesthetically undesirable beverage. This enzymatic clarification is one of the reasons why freshly squeezed juice has a shelf life of only a few hours. Flash pasteurization minimizes flavor changes caused by heat treatment and is recommended for premium products. Various pasteurization processes are used commercially. A common method is to run the juice through a tube next to a plate heat exchanger so that the juice is heated without direct contact with the heating surface. Another method uses hot pasteurized juice to preheat incoming unpasteurized juice. The preheated juice is reheated to pasteurization temperature with steam or hot water. Generally, reaching a temperature of 85 to 94 °C (185 to 201.2 °F) for about 30 seconds is sufficient to reduce bacterial count and prepare the juice for filling.

packaging/bottling

• 8 To ensure sterility, pasteurized juice must be filled while hot. Bottles and cans made of metal or glass can be preheated if possible. Containers that cannot withstand high temperatures (e.g. aseptic multi-layer plastic boxes for juices that do not require refrigeration) must be filled in a sterile environment. Hydrogen peroxide or another approved sterilant can be used in place of heat prior to filling. In both cases, the empty packs are fed via a conveyor belt to liquid filling machines that are fed juice from large tanks. The filling head measures the exact amount of product in the container and, depending on the packaging design, can be instantly inverted to sterilize the lid. After filling, the containers are cooled as quickly as possible. Orange juice packaged in this way can be stored at room temperature for 6 to 8 months.

by-products/waste

The by-products of orange juice production come from the peel and pulp, which are discarded. Products made from these materials include dehydrated animal feed, pectin for use in making jams, citric acid, essential oils, molasses and candied peel. Certain fractions of orange oil (known as D-Limonene) have excellent solvent properties and are sold for use in industrial cleaners.

quality control

Quality is controlled throughout the production process. Inspectors sort the fruit before extracting the juice. After extraction and concentration, the product is inspected to ensure it meets multiple USDA quality control standards. The most important measure in orange juice production is the sugar content, which is measured in degrees Brix (weight percentage of sugar in a solution). The types of oranges used and the climate in which they are grown affect the sugar content. Manufacturers mix juices with different sugar levels to achieve the desired sugar balance. The final juice product is evaluated on several key parameters including acidity, citrus oil content, pulp content, pulp cell integrity, color, viscosity, microbiological contamination, mouthfeel and flavor. A sensory panel is used to assess subjective qualities such as taste and texture. Finally, the units are checked for proper filling and sealing during the filling process.

The future

Future processing improvements are likely to come from the use of computer controlled fruit sizing and grading. Orange juice formulations will change as the trend continues to add more nutritious ingredients like antioxidants. Also, future formulas will likely be blends of orange juice with other more exotic fruit flavors like kiwi or even vegetable juices like carrot.

—Randy Schueller