Can you refuse a glass of juice offered to you? I - no, because both fruit and vegetable juices not only very tasty, but also useful. Natural juices prepared at home can be prepared for future use and drunk all year round. How pleasant and useful it is to open a jar of home-made apple or cherry juice in the middle of winter. And the process of preserving juices is quite simple. Juices squeezed from fruits, berries or vegetables are heated, poured into jars, hermetically sealed and pasteurized in hot water. Juices prepared in this way are perfectly stored in a dark, cool place, for example, in a cellar. Nothing complicated, but there will be much more pleasure and benefit from such juice.
Canning juices at home can be done in two ways: pasteurization and hot filling. The pasteurization method involves heating the juice almost to a boil and pouring it into sterile jars, after which the jars are covered with sterile lids and pasteurized in a water bath at a temperature of about 90 ° C for 20 minutes. The lids are then hermetically sealed. The hot filling method has recently become much more widespread, since the preservation process is much faster. The juice is heated, then boiled over low heat, poured to the brim in sterile jars, immediately rolled up with sterile lids. Turn the jars upside down, wrap them in a warm blanket and leave them to cool completely.
Harvesting juice at home is obtained by pressing fresh, fully ripe, high-quality and healthy fruits, berries or vegetables. When squeezing or pressing, together with the juice, all the most valuable and useful substances for the body are extracted from them - fruit acids and sugars, mineral compounds, vitamins and essential oils. Therefore, such 100% natural canned juices especially useful for both children and adults.
First of all, in order for your juice to turn out tasty and survive storage well, select for it only whole, fresh and untouched by various pests fruits and vegetables. No need to think that, for example, fruits and berries that are not suitable for jam will easily fit for juice. In fact, fruits intended for juicing should be free of wormholes, rot or mold. The fruits should be ripe, but again not too overripe.
Now that the high-quality fruits have been selected, they must be thoroughly washed under running water (you can use a shower for this purpose), then peeled from the seeds and stalks and chopped so that they give the juice better when squeezed. Soft berries, such as strawberries or raspberries, can be crushed by hand with a pusher, and denser fruits can be passed through a meat grinder with a large grate. Some fruits, such as plums and blackcurrants, are difficult to give juice, so they
can be folded into a saucepan and heated in a water bath. To extract juice, you can use both an electric juicer and a manual press.
Some juices are transparent on their own. Very good clear juices are obtained from cherries, raspberries, black and red currants. The rest of the juices are usually cloudy, as they contain suspended particles. To get rid of them, you need to filter the juice through a thin cloth and let it stand in a cold place. Previously, the housewives tried at all costs to clarify the juices, for which they filtered through several layers of cloth, defended and drained from the sediment. Modern nutritionists say that juices with pulp are the most beneficial for the body, especially such as, for example, pumpkin, tomato, plum, apricot, peach, pear and others. In them, among other things, fiber and pectin substances are preserved, which reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood and normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
After squeezing, the juice is poured into an enamel pan and heated to 80-95°C. It is important here to heat the juice almost to a boil, but do not boil it. Then the juice is filtered and heated again. During the second heating, sugar can be added to sour juices.
Hot juice is poured into jars, which must first be sterilized by holding for about a quarter of an hour over hot steam or calcined in the oven. You need to pour almost to the top, so there is less chance that the juice will go bad. The jars are then sealed with sterilized metal lids. Cans of juice are pasteurized in hot water for about 15-20 minutes.
Now about the hot filling method. To do this, the squeezed juice must be heated to 70-75 ° C, filtered, brought to a boil and boiled for 2-3 minutes, and then poured into sterilized jars and rolled up. Immediately after this, the jars should be placed upside down and covered with something warm, such as an old rug or blanket.
After cooling, the jars can be turned over and put for a week in a dark place at room temperature. During this week, jars with low-quality juice will “show themselves”: their contents will become cloudy and ferment. Only high-quality juice is removed for storage in a dark cool place. You can store juice canned at home for no more than a year.
Well, you already know how the harvesting of juice at home goes, so it's time to move on to the recipes.
Apple juice
Apple juice has long and firmly won people's love. It not only tastes good, but 
and extremely helpful. This drink will bring you to your senses after a hard day, relieve fatigue. It will give energy in the morning, even if you did not sleep well. And if you have a headache after yesterday's fun, its refreshing taste will quickly bring you to your senses. Apple juice can also be mixed with other juices to make a drink of your own taste. Pear-apple, apple-cherry, apple-rowanberry, currant-apple, etc. are good.
Cooking:
Apples of autumn varieties, juicy and not overripe, are most suitable for making juice. Wash the sorted raw materials, remove seeds, cut and pass through an electric juicer or squeeze it manually. Then pour the resulting juice into an enameled pan, add sugar (for 0.5 liters of juice, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar). Put the pan on the stove, heat until boiling, stirring all the time. Don't boil! Remove from heat immediately after boiling. Then pour the juice into clean, carefully pasteurized jars, roll up the lids, turn upside down and put it like that for a day, wrapped in a blanket. Then you can turn them over and remove the finished juice in a dark, cool place.
plum juice
Cooking:
All varieties of late-ripening plums are suitable for obtaining this juice. Sort the plums, rinse, remove the stones and heat for steam bath before juicing begins. After that, place the plums under a press and squeeze the juice. Pour it into prepared dishes and pasteurize from 15 minutes (0.5 l jars) to 30 minutes (1 l jars) at a temperature of 85 ° C. Or heat the juice to a temperature of 90-95 ° C, pour into prepared dishes and cork.
Strawberry or strawberry juice
Cooking:
Put prepared berries in enamelware, mash, cover and leave for 3-4 hours. Then add water at the rate of half a glass of water per 1 kg of berry mass and squeeze the juice. If the juice does not separate well, then heat the mixture to a temperature of 60 ° C. Then pour the juice into clean jars, cork and pasteurize from 15 minutes (0.5 l jars) to 20 minutes (1 l jars) at a temperature of 85°C.
Juice from raspberries, blackberries
Cooking:
For this juice, intensely colored varieties with a pronounced aroma should be preferred. These berries are very delicate, they should be processed immediately after harvest, because even with a short storage they cake, juice flows out of them, and they can become moldy. Clean the collected berries from stems and other impurities, quickly rinse in small portions, immersing a colander with berries in water, free from sepals. Then squeeze on a juicer or load into a juicer. It is better not to add sugar, but blend sour juice with other, sweeter juices. If you want to mix juices, various berries can be pressed together.
What could be better in the cold winter season than delicious raspberry juice with its unsurpassed aroma! A great reminder of summer for kids and adults!
Ingredients:
1 kg raspberries,
150-200 g of water.
Cooking:
Rinse the berries carefully and mash them with a wooden pestle. Preheat in enamel saucepan water to 60 ° C, put raspberries in it and heat the berries to 60 ° C with constant stirring. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it with a lid and drain the juice after 15 minutes. Filter it, bring it to a boil and immediately bottle or jar it. Then they can either be corked or pasteurized at 85°C: for half-liter cans or bottles, the time is 15 minutes, for liter - 20 minutes, for three-liter - 30 minutes.
Some natural juices, no matter how useful they are, still have to be combined with others to improve their taste and aroma. Sour juices from currants, cherries, plums, mix well with pears or apples. Juice from cherries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, black currant very fragrant. It will be good in combination with apple, pear, or gooseberry.
Juice from black, red, white currants
The skin of blackcurrant is quite dense, therefore, for better extraction of juice, the berries must be blanched. To do this, sort and rinse them, put them in a colander or a special net and put them in boiling water for 4-5 seconds. Squeeze the berries on a juicer (separately each type or together - if desired), strain the juice, bring to a boil, pour into prepared dishes and immediately close hermetically.
If you want to remember the past summer with its abundance of vegetables in winter, prepare vegetable juice.
Ingredients:
1 l. squash juice,
100 g grape leaves,
1 PC. carnations.
Cooking:
Wash the zucchini, peel, chop and squeeze the juice with a press or juicer. Grape leaves pour boiling water over and put in prepared jars, put a clove in the same place. Bring juice to a boil and pour into jars. Pasteurize jars for 10 minutes at 90°C.
Carrots have long been famous for their healing properties. carrot juice useful for people with diseases of the liver, kidneys, cardiovascular system. And it is simply necessary to use it for the prevention of various diseases. Carrot juice for the winter can be prepared in such a way that it remains fresh and preserves everything. beneficial features for a long time. In addition, it is a product that is unique in terms of preservation. Therefore, when preparing it, you need to take into account all the features. Do not use metal utensils.
Cooking:
Select a few fresh and ripe carrots, which are washed well, then peeled. Grind in a combine, juicer or squeeze the juice from grated carrots using a press.
Then give the juice a little time to settle. Remove from sediment and strain. Pour the liquid into a pan of a suitable volume and heat to 85 ° C.
Pour the heated juice immediately into pre-prepared bottles or jars. Don't fill them to the brim. Then cork and sterilize for half an hour at a temperature of 110 degrees.
Mixed vegetable juices
Recipe #1
Ingredients:
1 l. tomato juice
1 l. carrot juice,
1 l. pumpkin juice,
dill seeds, salt to taste.
Cooking:
Mix juices, add dill and salt and boil for 5 minutes. Pour hot into prepared jars and roll up.
Recipe #2
Ingredients:
1 liter tomato juice
0.25 l juice from sauerkraut,
salt, sugar to taste.
Cooking:
Mix juices, add salt and sugar, bring to a boil and pour into prepared jars. Pasteurize half-liter jars for 15 minutes, liter jars for 20 minutes at a temperature of 80 ° C.
By the way, juice can be frozen in a bottle for the winter. Try it, you and your loved ones will love frozen juices and enjoy making them every year.
Frozen juice in a bottle
For freezing juice plastic bottles used for packaging drinking water. Fresh Juice Pour into a bottle, squeeze the bottle lightly to squeeze out the air, and close tightly. Then wash the bottle, dry it and put it in the freezer. Before use, the frozen juice bottle must be removed from freezer and transfer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. In a day, the bottle will thaw. With this juice, you can cook compote, jelly, cook sauces and gravies with it. It depends on the kind of berries you have made into juice. But it is better, of course, to drink it.
Harvesting juice at home is simple, tasty and healthy. Drink homemade juices with pleasure! Enjoy your meal!
Larisa Shuftaykina
Every year the consumption of juices and juice-containing drinks in Russia is growing - in terms of the number of liters drunk per capita, we will soon catch up with Europe and America. Analysts explain this by the desire of citizens for a healthy lifestyle. However, without arguing about tastes, many consumers doubt the usefulness of juices.
Juices and juice-containing drinks are a familiar product for us. True, the juice that was sold in stores until the early 90s did not resemble modern products either in appearance or taste. Before the appearance in 1992 of the cardboard package familiar to today's customers, juice was poured into glass jars volume of 1 l and 3 l. Grocery stores and catering outlets sold juice "on tap" - from glass cones. The contents of the cans and cones were exclusively of domestic origin - according to the State Statistics Committee, the Soviet canning industry annually produced about 550 million liters of juices, nectars and juice-containing drinks from local raw materials.
Since mangoes and pineapples do not grow in our country, the motherland generously gave citizens birch juice, as well as apple and tomato juice, which formed the basis of the assortment. In much smaller quantities, juices and drinks were produced from plums, grapes, pears, pomegranates, peaches and apricots. Almost all juices were made directly at the place of growth of raw materials using the traditional technology of direct extraction: fruits and vegetables were peeled, squeezed juice from them, if necessary, water and sugar were added and clarified citric acid, after which they were pasteurized and poured into jars.
Over the past 15 years, the situation on the store shelves has changed dramatically: the choice has become much larger, the packaging is more convenient and aesthetic, and the technology industrial production now completely different. But the tastes of consumers, oddly enough, have not changed: of the variety of juices, buyers most often choose orange, apple and tomato (40% of all juice products), giving preference to domestic producers. According to TGI Russia, imports now account for less than 20% of the market. The remaining 80% is shared by the four largest players. Moreover, the market leader produces more juice than the entire Soviet canning industry. Thus, according to the estimates of the company "Business Analytics", "Lebedyansky" ("I", "Orchard", "Tonus") in 2006 produced 781 million liters of juices and juice-containing drinks; Multon (Good, Rich, Nico) owned by Coca-Cola - 575 million liters; "Nidan Juices" (Caprice, "My Family", "Sokos", "Champion", "Yes!") - 440 million liters. Approximately the same amount was produced at the factories of the Wimm-Bill-Dann company (Rio Grande, J7, 100% Gold, Favorite Garden).
Juice at the juice factory can be seen only once - during the pumping of the concentrate from the transport tanks
It is clear that beautiful commercials about Russian gardens in which fruits and vegetables ripen - raw materials for future juice - are nothing more than a myth designed for a gullible consumer. First, pineapples and bananas still do not grow in Russia. And secondly, more than 90% of juices are now made not from fruits, but by reconstitution from a frozen concentrate. The only exceptions are single producers who still make juice by direct extraction, for example, Sady Pridonya.
Therefore, although the producers on the market are all entirely domestic, the juices and drinks they produce can only be called Russian with some reservations. Raw materials for the most popular orange juice in Russia are supplied by Brazilian and Chinese companies. What there are many in Russia are sour apples. Concentrate requirements for sour apple juice(acidity above 2.5 pH) are almost completely covered by the Central Chernozem Region and the Krasnodar Territory. Raw materials for “sweet” apple juice (acidity below 2.5 pH) are usually imported from China. Tomato concentrate comes from Turkey and Iran; red berry juice concentrate is supplied by the German company Doehler. Multifruit and exotic blends are controlled by the largest international supplier Cargill.
Modern food production is always a compromise between consumer preferences and market conditions. On the one hand, the buyer wants to buy a natural and tasty product. On the other hand, the market dictates the cost, shelf life and convenience of packaging. If the first condition is not met, the consumer will not buy the product, and if the second - not a single large retail chain will undertake to sell it.
The juices produced by the Soviet canning industry, for all their naturalness, had a significant drawback - their shelf life was limited to months, and open jar it was stored in the refrigerator for only a few days, after which the contents turned sour and began to ferment.
Modern juices in aseptic packaging are stored at a temperature of 0 to 25 degrees for 9 to 12 months. And at the same time, according to manufacturers, they remain natural. This is achieved through the technology of production and packaging of the product.
In order to appreciate how industrially produced juice can be natural, we decided to see the production of juices with our own eyes. In the city of Ramenskoye, at one of the factories of Wimm-Bill-Dann, we were shown and told that fruit and vegetable juices are produced by diluting (producers say - restoring) ready-made concentrates. The concentrate is not at all the powder that many people remember, in which you just need to add water. In fact, it is “condensed juice”, which is obtained by removing water from natural juice. After that, the concentrate is frozen and transported in large containers to the place of production. There it is pumped out of transport tanks. The pumping process is the last stage when the raw material can be seen, as they say, “live”. Juice production consists of continuous pipes, barrels, huge tanks and conveyors. Passing through them, the concentrate is diluted with water, enriched with additional ingredients, pasteurized and poured into packaging.
Juice concentrate is a commodity. Therefore, many large producers prefer to buy it in Rotterdam, where the composition of concentrates is brought to standard values in huge storage facilities through blending and blending. Some juice producers buy concentrates directly from the producers. For example, at Nidan Juices, we were told that their specialists do not limit themselves in choosing countries and producers: they track where the harvest is better and which of the suppliers offers raw materials of the most suitable quality at the most interesting prices, and conclude contracts.
That is why prices for similar juices and nectars of different brands can differ significantly. The reason is that various quality concentrates are used: premium (the best first-pressed juice), standart (juice with pulp particles), as well as what manufacturers call pulp wash. The basis of the market is made up of juices and nectars produced from concentrates of an average, standard level.
Last year, prices for juice concentrates in the world increased, which led to an increase in the cost of juice in a package, which now amounts to 58-60% of the selling price.
The results of the global market research conducted by SIG Combiblock showed that in the last one and a half to two years, 45% of consumers are primarily interested in the usefulness of the product. Therefore, manufacturers of juices and nectars position their products as an integral element of a healthy diet: they explain in detail how many vitamins and microelements it contains, and with the help of advertising they form the consumer's conviction that it is impossible to lead a healthy lifestyle without juices. Meanwhile, even a superficial acquaintance with the stages of the path that “ useful product” from the plantation to the store shelf, makes the buyer wonder what can be useful in the juice after processing, transportation, refrigeration, heating during pasteurization and long-term storage.
To increase content useful substances in the finished juice, in the process of processing raw materials, manufacturers add special ready-made mixtures containing vitamins and microelements to the concentrates. But all these operations are done before pasteurization, and during it, the juice, in order to rid it of microbes, is heated to 100-105 degrees (using TetraPak technology).
Meanwhile, each vitamin behaves in its own way when the product containing it is heated and stored. And if, for example, the B vitamins are relatively stable, then vitamin C is subject to rapid destruction. Even at home, food loses half of ascorbic acid during cooking, and after six hours of storage, vitamin C is completely absent in it. Moreover, it is rapidly destroyed by the action of metals. For example, at the slightest ingestion of copper, lead or zinc into the product (which is why nutritionists do not recommend using metal utensils).
Dmitry Svirin, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Chief Technologist of the Wimm-Bill-Dann Ramensky Plant, assured us that the recipe for vitamin premixes is designed so that even after heating and multi-stage processing, useful substances are preserved in the required amount, and all the numbers stated on the packaging correspond reality.
This information was confirmed by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Konstantin Eller, Doctor of Chemistry, Head of the Laboratory of Analytical Research Methods food products State Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences explained that at different stages of obtaining “reconstituted” juices (during concentration, pasteurization, etc.), some of the substances that determine nutritional value, such as pectins, some antioxidants, are lost. But now in the production of juices, “gentle” technologies are used, such as short-term high-temperature heating during pasteurization. They help minimize losses.
Besides, modern technologies allow maximum preservation of natural nutrients already present in fruits. From the point of view of production efficiency, this is more profitable than synthesizing or purchasing artificial premixes. For example, Nidan Juices, as an ingredient containing ascorbic acid, adds Barbados cherry, acerola to its juices - even when heat treatment it does not lose the content of ascorbic acid.
Juice flavors, as experts explained, also have a natural origin. According to Konstantin Eller, natural aromatic substances that evaporate from juices along with water during the production of the concentrate are captured by low-temperature traps. The resulting natural aromatic fraction (the so-called “return aroma”) is added either to the concentrate or to the juice already restored from the concentrate.
Most consumers believe that the most healthy juices- freshly squeezed. About the "premium" and says their price. However, the Institute of Nutrition debunked the myth that freshly squeezed juice contains more vitamins and valuable substances than reconstituted juice from a bag or bottle. These products, despite the fact that both are natural, differ somewhat in their composition and nutritional value. The difference may be in the content of antioxidants and beneficial biological compounds, which are partially lost during the technological process.
But here the quality of the fruit from which the juice is squeezed must also be taken into account: many fruits intended for import are harvested unripe and treated with substances that contribute to their preservation. While for the production of juice concentrates, special high-quality varieties of oranges, grapefruits, pineapples and other crops are used. Moreover, apples, for example, after three to four months of storage lose about 20% of vitamin C, and lemons and oranges lose up to a third of its original amount after six months. While the chemical composition of juices in modern packaging, subject to proper storage by the end of the expiration date declared by the manufacturer, remains practically unchanged.
The myth about the special quality of juices in glass containers is just an attempt by marketers to convince the buyer to buy more expensive what can be bought cheaper. There are no serious technological differences in the production of juice in glass containers and in ordinary bags, and juice in a bottle does not have any advantages.
Olga Belikov, Ilya Zinoviev, Olga Likhina, Ekaterina Lyubavina
Beauty and Health Health Nutrition
How often do people, when buying juice in a store, pay attention to the inscription “reconstituted”? And who thought at least once about what, in fact, it was restored from? And in general - what are juices made of, the consumption of which is increasing every year, because many have made it a rule to drink a certain amount of juice per day, considering this a sign of a healthy lifestyle?
There are so many questions that in most cases can be answered with only one answer - concentrated juice. It is from it (in most cases - in 90%) that all types of juices that we see in retail are made.
What is concentrated juice and what is it eaten with
Let's make a reservation right away - they don’t drink or eat concentrated juice, because this product is not for “direct consumption”. This is a blank in order to “restore” juice from it later. This is a concentrate of vegetables or fruits, which is obtained by evaporating excess liquid from freshly squeezed juice. How does this happen? During the harvest, berries, fruits or vegetables enter the factory, where they are washed, cleaned, crushed and juice is squeezed out of them under pressure. This is the freshly squeezed one. Further, this workpiece is evaporated to about half the volume, and the result is a concentrate - a thick and viscous consistency. Of course, this is a primitive description of the concentrated juice production process, but why do we need technological tricks when everything is clear anyway.
However, a juice factory is not home kitchen where everything boils in pots. The fact is that the concentrate is evaporated at low pressure, which helps to preserve vitamins and microelements, which are so rich in all juices. And one more nuance - a lot evaporates during boiling essential oils, which in the factory conditions do not go anywhere. They are caught by special traps and then added to the same juice to give it flavor. These substances are scientifically called "aromatic".
Then for a short time - less than a minute - concentrated juice brought to a temperature of 92 C to prevent microbiological spoilage - that is, simply fermentation. Then the juice waits either for clarification with the help of special filters, or it remains cloudy - it depends on its subsequent purpose.
Thereafter concentrated juice waiting to be moved to special tanks, where it is stored until transported around the world - to where it will already be made into reconstituted juices or nectars. All containers for storage and transportation of juice have aseptic properties. Sometimes juices are mixed together to get interesting flavor combinations for the enjoyment of consumers. Moreover, in one tank there may be an apple from China and a carrot from Israel, as well as pears from Turkey. Truly an international juice!
Fruit for the production of concentrated juice
A strange question - of course, where they grow. Moreover, juice producers know where the sweetest apples and the most tart cherries grow, as well as other characteristics of fruits and vegetables. Now we will know about it. For example, oranges for the most delicious orange juice are brought from Brazil and China. sour apples grow in Russia, sweet apples are supplied by China, tomato juice concentrate by Turkey and Iran, red berry concentrate by Germany, and concentrates from multifruits and exotic fruits America supplies us. Yes, these countries supply juice factories with fruit concentrates, because making concentrated juice where fruits grow is much more profitable than transporting tons of them to the factory. Moreover, the factories are closely monitoring in which countries a good harvest of certain fruits has been born in order to purchase high-quality semi-finished products for their production there. They get it frozen or hermetically sealed, and only then they get reconstituted juice from it. The whole process takes place in closed pipes and containers, huge tanks and on a conveyor, where the concentrates are diluted with water, enriched with additional additives, pasteurized and poured into packaging.
To get an even bigger picture of where we get concentrated juice, to name a few more countries: Thailand supplies pineapple concentrate, Cuba - orange, India - mango concentrate, Israel and Argentina supply lemon juice, Ecuador - banana puree, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Chile - apricot puree, Ecuador - passion fruit concentrate.
Concentrated Juice - Exchange Commodity, and many major juice producers buy it from large wholesale warehouses in Rotterdam. It is there that blending (mixing different types) and blending (mixing in certain proportions) of concentrates, and they are brought to standard quality indicators.
Other manufacturers prefer to buy concentrates directly - where they are made. At the same time, the best concentrated juice is selected at the best prices, because any factory is interested in high-quality raw materials.
Here we come to a very interesting question: Why are juice prices so different? Because the quality of the concentrated juice from which they are produced varies.
Specialists divide the concentrate into three categories:
juice of the first pressing is the best, it is called "premium"; juice with the presence of pulp is called "standard"; pulp with little juice present is called "pulp wash".
In the vast majority of cases, juice is made from a concentrate of the second category.
The benefits of concentrated juice
It is already clear that the usefulness of the juice that we buy in the store directly depends on how many useful substances are contained in the concentrated juice. Without going into details, we will refer to the words of the employees of one of the laboratories that works at the juice factory. They claim that all juices are very useful, because an additional amount is added to the concentrate. ready mix which contains vitamins and minerals. And the heating of the mass for its pasteurization occurs very quickly. So vitamins do not have time to collapse. As for such delicate vitamin C, which is destroyed even with slight heating, a solution has also been found here: acerola cherry concentrate is added to the juice. Why is it good? Vitamin C, contained in the cherry of this variety, is not destroyed even with prolonged heating. But not everything is so rosy, and when diluting and further working with the concentrate, some of the antioxidants and pectins disappear, so to say that this juice contains all the properties fresh fruits, will be wrong.
Immediately there is a comparison of reconstituted juice with freshly squeezed, not in favor of the first. Experts give a clear answer to this: if you just squeezed the juice and drank it, then this is the most healthy drink. However, do you know how long this apple or orange lay in the warehouse, how long it traveled to you by sea or by land? After all, apples already 3 months after harvesting begin to lose their useful properties, oranges - after six months. In addition, freshly squeezed juices are made according to a technology that involves the collection of unripe fruits. Then they are ripened by processing with special substances, and then the juice is squeezed out of them. So it is unnecessary to say that this juice is more useful than reconstituted.
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The production of concentrated juices was invented for convenience, this is an intermediate phase between freshly squeezed juice and reconstituted juice that fills store shelves. The usefulness of such raw materials raises doubts among consumers. Are they justified?
Production technology
Juices can be divided according to the method of production and purpose into types: freshly squeezed, direct extraction, concentrated and reconstituted. To obtain concentrated juices, it is necessary to remove all excess water from freshly squeezed juice. Freshly squeezed - directly squeezed juice that has not undergone any processing. The production of concentrated juices is carried out in three ways:
Evaporation. The juice is placed in special vacuum trays and heated. Do not bring to a boil, so that all the beneficial properties of the juice are preserved. As a result of evaporation, a viscous, viscous mass is obtained, reminiscent of honey. Freezing. The opposite process to evaporation, excess water is not evaporated, but frozen out. Membrane method. The juice is passed through a perforated membrane that separates the water molecules from everything else.
After receiving the concentrate, it is either frozen or pasteurized and canned for further transportation to the final product manufacturing plant. Under proper storage conditions, it is good for 6 months to a year. Give different fruits different amount concentrate. Fruits collected in different countries, give a different taste of the concentrate. The same applies to the year of harvest and variety of fruits.
Specifications (GOST R 52185-2003)
The conditions for the production of concentrated juices are determined by the State Standard. Concentrated fruit juices, the technical conditions of which are met in accordance with the standards, become a safe raw material for further use. Here are the requirements for the raw materials used. The use of concentrated aromatic substances obtained from fruits of the same species is allowed. It is allowed to use imported raw materials with suitable GOST characteristics and safety indicators. It is not allowed to use natural and artificial dyes, flavors, preservatives, except for sorbic acid.
Packaging containers, consumer or transport, must be hermetically sealed, ensure the safety of products throughout the entire shelf life. Juices packed in glass containers must be protected from sunlight and light. Expiration dates and storage conditions are set by the manufacturer.
The marking must contain the name of the juice, the manufacturer, its location, net weight, method of consumption, nutritional value, expiration date, storage conditions, type of juice - clarified or not clarified.
What are juice concentrates for? Usage
Concentrated juices are not intended to be used as food. They are an intermediate product, a raw material. Reconstituted juices are made from them, which are then sold in stores, and also added to jelly, jam, and other products. When the juice is restored, it goes through the reverse procedure - water returns to it. The recovery technology includes several stages, the concentrate is rapidly heated, then it is also rapidly cooled, sterile pure water, sugar or other sweeteners are added, as well as natural aromatic substances lost during the concentration process.
This is how the well-known juice is obtained, which can be bought at any store. In terms of its qualities, it is no different from straight-pressed juice, it has the same properties and a set of vitamins. Why use such difficult process? Concentrated juices take up less space than freshly squeezed juices, making them easier to transport and store. This technology facilitates transportation from other countries. Another plus is that the concentrate can be stored long time, while retaining all useful properties.
Classification
Concentrated juices are produced from various fruits in the countries where these fruits grow. This happens for obvious reasons - it's easier and cheaper. For Russia, the state standard defines a list of names of concentrated fruit juices: lingonberry, cherry plum, raspberry, cherry, pear, sea buckthorn, strawberry, apple, blueberry, grape, blueberry, cranberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, cherry, chokeberry, redcurrant.
According to the manufacturing method, concentrated juices are divided into clarified (freed from all solid particles until transparent) and non-clarified (with suspensions). According to the canning method, concentrated juice can be frozen at a temperature not higher than -18 degrees, sterilized, unsterilized.
Apple juice
The production of apple juice begins with the collection of raw materials - fruits of a certain variety. In production, cleaning, quality control of fruits and removal of spoiled apples are carried out. By pressing, directly squeezed juice is obtained, from which a concentrate will be prepared. Concentrated apple juice is mainly produced by evaporation. First, it is placed in a centrifuge, where it is cleaned of suspensions. Then it is heated in a special installation, the juice loses 15% of the water of the total volume and the aromatic substances contained in it, which are separately concentrated and packaged. The remains of raw materials without aromatic substances are clarified with enzymes, then passed through filters to obtain clear juice, then evaporated to obtain 70% dry matter.
Apple juice concentrate has a rich chemical composition. It contains the amino acids leucine, valine, lysine, serine, alanine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, asparagine, threonine, aminobutyric, aspartic, glutamic acids. It has a large number of monosaccharides, but most of all it contains amine nitrogen.
Lemon juice
Lemons do not produce concentrates like other fruits. The so-called concentrated lemon juice is in liquid form and is produced and sold by several companies for home use in miniature plastic bags. In view of their palatability lemon juice is used in small quantities, and it makes no sense to make a thick concentrate out of it and transport it in huge tanks.
Fresh lemon already contains highly concentrated juice. It is impossible to use it undiluted, it will cause irritation of the mucous membranes of the digestive organs and damage to tooth enamel, as it contains organic acids. Lemon juice is used in cooking as a dressing for salads, seasoning for meat or fish.
Grape juice
From fresh grapes juice is squeezed out, which is filtered until a transparent raw material is formed. From the resulting clarified juice, a concentrate is obtained in special apparatuses under vacuum. This method retains all the beneficial properties of grapes. The resulting concentrate is placed in a metal or glass container for storage or transportation. It should be stored at a temperature not exceeding 20 degrees.
Concentrated grape juice is used not only for subsequent recovery, but also in the production of wine, soft drinks, confectionery and dairy industries.
Store juice myths
There is an opinion that packaged juices are not natural and are produced using preservatives or other chemicals. Having understood the production technique, which is actually simple and understandable, we can conclude the opposite: this is nothing more than a myth. Concentrated juices are a natural semi-finished product. Water is removed from it only for the convenience of transportation between countries. And when restored, it is added back, the juice acquires its original form with virtually no loss of useful components. The only permitted preservative in juices - sorbic acid - is safe for humans. Also, aseptic packaging without the use of preservatives for up to a year helps to preserve the freshness of the juice. In addition, juices restored from concentrate retain all the benefits of the fruits from which they are made.
Selection of fruits and the first stage of production
We buy ready-made concentrated juice, since we cannot produce it ourselves: no the right amount and variety of fruits. We work with trusted suppliers who grow our fruit on plantations and process it at a plant in close proximity to reduce delivery times and maintain the quality of the juice. For it, special varieties of fruits are used - with greater juiciness.
After sorting, the fruits are thoroughly washed and sent for pressing in special machines. Part of the water is removed from freshly squeezed juice using evaporation technology and concentrated juice is obtained. Outwardly, it resembles a thick viscous liquid, similar in consistency to liquid honey or fruit puree. It is made in order to simply transport it over long distances, otherwise the juice cannot be stored.
Quality is controlled in several stages: checking fruits, berries or vegetables for several indicators, starting with visual (ripeness and freshness, compliance with size standards) and ending with laboratory ones, that is, according to physical and chemical indicators; control of the finished concentrated juice for microbiological and organoleptic (taste, color, smell) indicators - the product must comply with food safety requirements, specifications. For example, if it is indicated that the juice is clarified, they check how much.
Concentrated juice can be of two types depending on the feedstock: thicker (mashed potatoes) and more liquid (juice). To transport puree, it is packaged, frozen and kept at a low temperature during transportation; the juice is packaged and not frozen, but only placed in a chamber with a cool temperature. After that, the concentrate is sent to our Lebedyansky plant.
As for the evaporated water, it is used at further stages: first, at the time of evaporation, aromatic substances are obtained from it, which are cooled, due to which they become water again, packaged and transported along with the concentrate. At the next (our) production, already at the moment of diluting the juice with water, they are returned back.
Second stage of production
Our production starts directly from concentrated juice. The juice must be restored so that the proportions of the concentrate and water correspond to the original version (hence the name of the juice - “restored”), are balanced, therefore, for each juice - apple, orange, grape, and so on - there are water proportions. In addition, the proportion depends on the variety and region of fruit growth - this is the main difference between the same orange juices from different brands (for example, oranges from Brazil are very different from oranges from Italy). It also matters whether the juice is clarified or with pulp.
Along with water, aromatic substances obtained at the initial stage during the evaporation of water from the juice are added to the concentrated juice.
Water
The water used in the production process undergoes special treatment and purification. It is extracted from natural wells and is purified by filters in several stages before entering production. For example, coal - to ensure compliance with standards for organoleptic indicators, that is, to exclude any extraneous tastes and odors. Then the water is purified from salts, which in content exceed the limit set by the standards for juices.
Heat treatment and packaging
Next, the juice is subjected to gentle heat treatment, that is, rapid heating to 95 degrees for 30 seconds (product pasteurization), and rapid cooling before bottling. This process allows, on the one hand, to make the product safe in terms of microbiological indicators, and on the other hand, to preserve the maximum of vitamins and minerals.
After that, aseptic (without air access) packaging of juice takes place on special filling machines in a combined multi-layer package. This technology ensures a long shelf life even at room temperature (for a sealed J7 juice bag, the shelf life is approximately one year). If you opened the package, then the juice must be consumed within a day: when you open the package, live microflora from the air of the room where it is stored enters the juice, so it cannot be stored for a long time.
juice and nectar
There are two types of reconstituted juices: 100% and nectars. In one hundred percent, there can be nothing superfluous, only concentrated juice and the amount of water that is necessary to replenish the initial balance of the liquid; We also indicate the composition on the packaging - this is a legal requirement. A little more water is added to nectar concentrated juice (its share here is usually from 20 to 50%) than was originally in the juice in order to achieve the most suitable consistency for consumption. In addition, add sugar or sugar syrup or acidifiers (despite the content of their own acids in fruits - they are not always enough), such as citric or tartaric acid(referred to in the composition as "acidity regulator"). This applies to fruits, of which without the addition additional ingredients juice cannot be made due to their high acidity (lemon, passion fruit) or thick pulp (peach, mango, apricot, banana).
The same with cherries: it will simply be impossible to drink the juice from it, since it is very sour, so they make nectar. It happens like this: natural concentrated juice (and sometimes fruit puree) goes into large containers of the blending shop, sugar syrup goes there in accordance with the recipe. After blending (in this case- dilution with water), the finished product again passes the control of the factory laboratory for compliance with organoleptic and physico-chemical parameters and enters the bottling line.
After bottling the nectar into bags, the product from each batch is selected for another quality check - already finished product. In addition, several packages of juice from each batch are selected for storage in a special storage - if necessary, in the future, you can always check the quality of the product from a particular batch.
The difference between juices from different manufacturers
As I have already said, the main difference between the same orange juices from different brands is the variety and region of fruit growth. For some juices, fruits are chosen sweeter, for others - sourer. For example, Russian apples are more acidic than those from southern European countries, but consumers have different tastes, and we try to take them into account. Everything depends on the variety: taste, saturation, color, density. Dyes are not added to any juices. Saturation is regulated by water, taste - by sugar or acidifiers. The amount of concentrated juice should be at least 20%. Also, the juice can be clarified or left with pulp. According to these parameters, juices differ.
About direct juices
Direct-pressed juices on the Russian market are present in quite small quantities, usually produced by small companies. In our conditions, it is very difficult to do this, especially in large quantities: we need plantations close to production and summer almost all year round. But there are countries, such as the United States, where, on the contrary, most juices are first-pressed, since there is no problem of transporting fruits to production.
How often do people, when buying juice in a store, pay attention to the inscription “reconstituted”? And who thought at least once about what, in fact, it was restored from? And in general - what are juices made of, the consumption of which is increasing every year, because many have made it a rule to drink a certain amount of juice per day, considering this a sign of a healthy lifestyle?
There are so many questions that in most cases can be answered with only one answer - concentrated juice. It is from it (in most cases - in 90%) that all types of juices that we see in retail are made.
What does concentrated mean?
Let's make a reservation right away - they don’t drink or eat concentrated juice, because this product is not for “direct consumption”. This is a blank in order to “restore” juice from it later. This is a concentrate of vegetables or fruits, which is obtained by evaporating excess liquid from freshly squeezed juice. How does this happen? During the harvest, berries, fruits or vegetables enter the factory, where they are washed, cleaned, crushed and juice is squeezed out of them under pressure. This is the freshly squeezed one.
Further, this workpiece is evaporated to about half the volume, and the result is a concentrate - a thick and viscous consistency. Of course, this is a primitive description of the concentrated juice production process, but why do we need technological tricks when everything is clear anyway.
Production features
However, a juice factory is not a home kitchen where everything boils in pots. The fact is that the concentrate is evaporated at low pressure, which helps to preserve vitamins and microelements, which are so rich in all juices. And one more nuance - during the boil, a lot of essential oils evaporate, which do not go anywhere under factory conditions. They are caught by special traps and then added to the same juice to give it flavor. These substances are scientifically called "aromatic".
Then for a short time - less than a minute - the concentrated juice is brought to a temperature of 92 C to prevent microbiological spoilage - that is, simply fermentation. Then the juice waits either for clarification with the help of special filters, or it remains cloudy - it depends on its subsequent purpose.
After that, the concentrated juice is waiting to be transferred to special tanks, where it is stored until transported around the world - to where it will already be made into reconstituted juices or nectars. All containers for storage and transportation of juice have aseptic properties. Sometimes the juices are mixed together to create interesting flavor combinations for the enjoyment of consumers. Moreover, in one tank there may be an apple from China and a carrot from Israel, as well as pears from Turkey. Truly an international juice!
What vegetables and fruits are suitable?
Now it's time to talk about what vegetables and fruits are suitable for concentrated juice and where do you get them? A strange question - of course, where they grow. Moreover, producers of concentrated juices know where the sweetest apples and the most tart cherries grow, as well as other characteristics of fruits and vegetables. Now we will know about it. For example, oranges for the most delicious orange juice are brought from Brazil and China. Sour apples grow in Russia, sweet apples are supplied by China, tomato concentrated juice from Turkey and Iran, red berry concentrate from Germany, and America supplies us with concentrates from multifruits and exotic fruits. Yes, these countries supply juice factories with fruit concentrates, because making concentrated juice where fruits grow is much more profitable than transporting tons of them to the factory. Moreover, the factories are closely monitoring in which countries a good harvest of certain fruits has been born in order to purchase high-quality semi-finished products for their production there.
Manufacturers receive juice concentrate frozen or hermetically sealed, and only then make reconstituted juice from it. The whole process takes place in closed pipes and containers, huge tanks and on a conveyor, where the concentrates are diluted with water, enriched with additional additives, pasteurized and poured into packaging.
To get an even bigger picture of where we get concentrated juice from, here are a few more countries: Thailand supplies pineapple concentrate, Cuba supplies orange, India supplies mango concentrate, Israel and Argentina supply lemon juice, Ecuador supplies banana puree, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Chile - apricot puree, Ecuador - passion fruit concentrate.
Concentrated juice is an exchange commodity and many large juice producers buy it from large wholesalers in Rotterdam. It is there that blending (mixing of different types) and blending (mixing in certain proportions) of concentrates is carried out in huge storage facilities, and they are brought to standard quality indicators.
Other manufacturers prefer to buy juice concentrates directly - where they are made. At the same time, the best concentrated juice is selected at the best prices, because any factory is interested in high-quality raw materials.
Types of product received
Here we come to a very interesting question: why are the prices for juices so different? Because the quality of the concentrated juice from which they are produced varies.
Specialists divide concentrated juice into three categories:
- juice of the first pressing is the best, it is called "premium";
- juice with the presence of pulp is called "standard";
- pulp with little juice present is called "pulp wash".
In the vast majority of cases, reconstituted juice is made from a concentrate of the second category.
The benefits of concentrated juice
It is already clear that the usefulness of the juice that we buy in the store directly depends on how many useful substances are contained in the concentrated juice. Without going into details, we will refer to the words of the employees of one of the laboratories that works at the juice factory. They claim that all juices are very useful, because the finished mixture, which contains vitamins and trace elements, is additionally added to the concentrate. And the heating of the mass for its pasteurization occurs very quickly. So vitamins do not have time to collapse.
As for such delicate vitamin C, which is destroyed even with slight heating, a solution has also been found here: acerola cherry concentrate is added to the juice. Why is it good? Vitamin C, contained in the cherry of this variety, is not destroyed even with prolonged heating. But not everything is so rosy, and when diluting and further working with the concentrate, some of the antioxidants and pectins disappear, so it would be wrong to say that the concentrated juice contains all the properties of fresh fruits.
Reconstituted or freshly squeezed?
Immediately there is a comparison of reconstituted juice from concentrated with freshly squeezed, not in favor of the first. Experts give a clear answer to this: if you just squeezed the juice and drank it, then this is the most healthy drink. However, do you know how long this apple or orange lay in the warehouse, how long it traveled to you by sea or by land?
After all, apples begin to lose useful properties already 3 months after harvesting, oranges - after six months. In addition, freshly squeezed juices are made according to a technology that involves the collection of unripe fruits. Then they are ripened by processing with special substances, and then the juice is squeezed out of them. So it is needless to say that this juice is healthier than reconstituted juice from concentrate.
Concentrated juices have existed since ancient times. Magnus Blauberg, doctor of medicine at the University of Berlin, in his study "On chemical composition and Sanitary Significance of Pasteurized Grape Juice”, published in 1898, writes that the ancient Romans were able to obtain concentrated juice. Grape juice was evaporated several times, and condensed juice was obtained - thick and dense, like liquid honey. This juice was called "defrutum" (twice condensed juice) or "carenum" (third condensed juice). In Germany, since the time of Charlemagne, condensed grape juice"most". In France it was called "sabe". And the inhabitants of the Caspian coast knew this product under the name "duschap". Such juice could be stored for a long time and diluted with water to the state of ordinary juice.
In America in the 40s of the last century, concentrated frozen Orange juice. We concentrated it under vacuum, so its taste and nutritional properties were preserved. The juice was sold in 12-ounce (360 ml) cans frozen. Before use, it had to be thawed and diluted with water in the proportion indicated on the jar. This juice remained one of the most popular in the US until the mid-80s.
The catalog "Food concentrates" of 1958, published by the Ministry of Trade of the USSR, tells in detail about "fruit and berry extracts", that is, "concentrated (condensed) by boiling fruit and berry juices", which were produced in the USSR after the war. Juices were boiled down at low temperatures under vacuum, and this method preserved their nutritional value. The resulting extracts contained "the same valuable nutrients found in juices." These concentrated juices from a variety of fruits and berries - cranberries, apples, cherries, plums, black currants, sweet cherries and others - and packed in glass bottles of various sizes. They were drunk, diluted with water 5-10 times, and also used to make mousses, jelly and jelly.
The production of concentrated juices improved. Technology has become even more forgiving. Specialists have learned how to capture natural aromatic substances that evaporated during concentration and return them to the juice - the juices have become more aromatic. It was these concentrated juices, mixed with natural aromatic substances, that were familiar to Soviet consumers in the 70-80s of the XX century. In the same years, experts actively studied the issue of the feasibility of industrial production of ready-to-drink juices from concentrated juices.
Now on the shelves of stores, both in Russia and around the world, you can see many types of reconstituted juices - this is how juices obtained using concentrated juices are now called. They retain the beneficial properties of fresh fruits and are available to consumers all year round.
