In any store, you can find many varieties of reconstituted juice from various fruits and vegetables. Many people believe that the use of such juice can replace the use of freshly squeezed juice and replenish the entire supply of vitamins. But no one thinks about what such a juice was made from. What was part of it? The answer to this question will help to give the concentrated juice itself. It is found in most drinks.
What is Juice Concentrate?
In the store, you can often find concentrates of various juices. What is concentrated juice? Concentrated juice is a fruit juice from which moisture is extracted. There are different types of juice processing, so concentrates can also contain vitamins and minerals. Such a drink also contains nutrients, this is the main reason for using it.
But on the other hand, the concentrate is subjected to more processing than a simple fresh fruit or vegetable. This is what causes people to doubt. Is concentrated juice really useful and is it worth using it? The freshly squeezed juice contains more than 90% water, in the process of obtaining a concentrate from fresh juice, it is necessary to remove all the liquid. As a result of processing, a syrupy product is obtained, it is called concentrated juice.
Extracting water from the fruit minimizes the growth of bacteria, this automatically increases the shelf life of the product. And concentrates spoil much less often. Juice processing with water removal allows producers to save a significant amount of money on packaging and special transportation, in compliance with storage conditions.
The methods of processing concentrated products may also differ from each other. The concentrate of many juices is filtered, evaporated, and pasteurized, some concentrates may include food additives. Concentrated juices can be sold in various forms: warm, frozen.
Production PROCESS of concentrated juice
For the production of concentrated juice, manufacturers use fresh fruits and vegetables, without defects. Thus, a mixture of the pulp of fruits or vegetables is obtained. A huge part of the water will evaporate in a vacuum or freeze out. It is because of the evaporation of water that the taste of the drink becomes diluted, so many companies add artificial flavors. Sweeteners (corn syrup), artificial colors, and flavors are also added to the concentrates.
Some concentrated juices are specially processed to remove harmful microbes, this increases the shelf life of the product.
Preparation METHOD FOR CONCENTRATED JUICE
There are various ways to prepare concentrated juice. Here are the most common:
- Farmers harvest crops on special plantations and deliver them to factories
- Workers in factories process fruits, berries and vegetables
- The resulting processed products are sent to the press
- Squeezed juice – the initial preparation Half of the resulting volume of liquid will evaporate, thus a concentrated product is obtained
Concentrated juice is considered to be prepared correctly if its consistency is sufficiently viscous.
Types of concentrates
There are several types of concentrates, they have their own useful properties:
- One hundred percent fruit concentrate. This product is made from fresh natural fruits. It is considered the most useful and healthy option. This fruit concentrate contains a lot of useful substances. Only natural sugars are added to the product. But even they can contain harmful additives.
- A concentrated fruit cocktail. This drink is made from a mixture of various juices. As part of a concentrated fruit cocktail, there are a lot of flavorings and sweeteners. They are added to the drink to make up for the lack of natural ingredients.
- Powdered concentrated juices. The water is evaporated using a sublimation gun. This is the least useful product, it most often contains the largest amount of sugar.
Before buying concentrated juice, you need to carefully study its composition on the label.
Technical conditions of preparation
Conditions and standards for the production of concentrated juices have been defined all over the world. This is since manufacturers can save on making a drink by using bad fruits or adding too many preservatives there. The general technical conditions of preparation exclude the possibility of getting low-quality products on the shelves of stores that will be dangerous for the health of consumers.
First of all, there are requirements for the raw materials used. Fruits, vegetables, and berries must be fresh, collected only from authorized and special places.
It is allowed to use concentrated aromatic substances obtained from fruits of the same type.
It is forbidden to use certain dyes and preservatives, except for sorbic acid.
Several requirements also apply to packaging containers. It must be sealed and preserve the product until the expiration date. If the manufacturer prefers glass containers, then they should be covered with labels so that the product is not exposed to sunlight. Expiration dates and storage conditions are set by the manufacturer. On the label, the manufacturer must indicate the name of the juice and its manufacturer, location, net weight, method of use, nutritional value, shelf life, storage conditions, type of juice – clarified or not clarified.
Health benefits OF CONCENTRATED JUICE
Concentrated juices can hardly be called harmful to the body, but they also do not contain any benefits. During the processing and evaporation of water, most of all the useful substances contained in fresh juice are lost. If you want to drink this juice to make up for the lack of vitamins, then this is unlikely to help you.
So you should not buy concentrated juices for vitamin deficiency. Synthetic vitamins are added to such drinks. This does not improve the quality of the juice at all, only has a positive effect on the taste qualities.
We drink fresh fruit juices not only because of the taste but also to be enriched with vitamins, minerals, organic acids, and antioxidants. It is necessary to take this into account when buying fruit concentrates instead of preparing freshly squeezed juices.
There is a good hint that will help you choose a concentrated juice if you have already decided on it. The more saturated and color the juice has, the more dyes it contains. Natural apple juice has a color from light brown to dark brown, and if the “juice” is bright green, then it can not be natural in any way.
Most of the products in the store can only give you a taste of pleasure. The most popular types of concentrated juices are orange, apple and pineapple kinds. You can find the following advantages in them:
- Possible content of vitamins and nutrients. This product can be useful if it is made from fresh products (vegetables, fruits, berries), without sugar, salt, or other fillers. Concentrated juices can contain such useful vitamins as A, B, C, and others. To find out this, you need to carefully study the labels.
- The content of plant compounds that are useful for the human body ( carotene, anthocyanins, and flavonoids).
- If the concentrated juice contains a small amount of preservatives, it can be a good remedy for your skin. The more vitamins and minerals you consume, the better your skin will be. The vitamin C contained in drinks (even in small amounts) also slows down aging and prevents the appearance of wrinkles.
MAIN DISADVANTAGES OF CONCENTRATED JUICE
The main disadvantages of concentrated juices can be safely attributed to the catastrophically low fiber content, the presence of flavorings and artificial sugars. As we found out, this is since the concentrate goes through various stages of processing. There are two main disadvantages of this product:
- The content of preservatives and sugar. The juice contains more than 10% of the daily norm of sugar. With the use of such juices, there can be no question of any diet. Also, a high sugar content leads to heart disease and the development of diabetes. The fact is that artificial sugars are used, and they are much worse absorbed in the body. Concentrated juices still contain preservatives. Preservatives are substances that hinder the vital activity of microorganisms and some other types of living beings in food products. If you still decide to buy concentrated juice, then give preference to a drink that completely lacks sugar substitutes or contains a minimum amount. If it comes to vegetable juices, then special attention should be paid to the amount of salt there.
- The minimum amount of fiber. Most often, people buy juices to make up for the lack of such a necessary enzyme as fiber. This product does not contain fiber, which is found in natural vegetables and fruits, because it undergoes heat treatment and evaporation. Concentrated juices contain a large number of carbohydrates and an increased level of calories. This drink is not suitable for maintaining a diet and the process of losing weight. A logical question arises: why is there not enough fiber in concentrated juice if it is made from natural processed fruits? The answer is simple – the number of whole fruits for preparing a liter of juice is one. To replenish fiber, you need to drink juice made from at least two fruits.
Each person decides for himself whether he will drink concentrated juices and in what quantities. The main thing is to carefully study the composition of the products used, so as not to harm your health. And do not make a habit of regular consumption of the drink, since there are a lot of preservatives in it.
The content of useful plant compounds
The juice concentrate contains useful plant compounds – carotenoids, anthocyanins, and flavonoids. They are very useful for health – they improve the condition of the skin, the work of the heart, and the gastrointestinal tract.
Flavonoids, which are contained in orange juice, play an important role in the fight against chronic inflammation associated with obesity. According to the study, people who regularly consume orange juice have lost weight. In their body, the process of inflammation decreased.
Another study was conducted on 56 obese adults. It showed that taking a mixture of fruit and vegetable juice concentrates for 8 weeks significantly reduced inflammation and LDL levels. This is what bad cholesterol is called. Also, all 56 people lost weight.
Why do people need concentrated juices?
First of all, we need any juices (concentrated or freshly squeezed) for eating. Concentrated juices are not recommended to be consumed or diluted. This is an intermediate product, a certain type of raw material. Reconstituted juices are then made from such raw materials, they are the ones that get on the shelves of stores. What is the juice recovery process? This procedure can be safely called the reverse – the water that was previously pumped out is returned to the product. The recovery technology also includes several stages.
- First, the concentrated juice is heated, then cooled
- Sterile water and sweeteners are added to the cooled juice
- Next, flavorings lost during concentration are added to the drink.
Thus, we get a concentrated reconstituted juice, which is sold in any store. In terms of its qualities, it does not differ in any way from direct-pressed juice, except that it contains fewer vitamins and minerals. Why use the procedure for restoring concentrated juice at all? This processing technology facilitates the transportation of juice from other countries.
The main use of concentrated juices is a cheap juice substitute. Many people cannot afford to constantly buy fresh juices or buy fruits and berries to make juice themselves. Concentrated juice can also be found in any store at a minimum price. But you should not drink a lot of cheap concentrates, they will have a bad effect on the body and will not bring you any benefit.
Final thoughts
Juice concentrates are a cheap alternative to juice. They can be stored for a long time, are convenient for transportation, and also contain vitamins and antioxidants. Good and thorough processing of such juices eliminates the possibility of harmful microbes and pathogenic bacteria getting into them. Such juice can practically not ferment.
If you are buying juice concentrates, look for concentrates made from 100% juice. However, the use of freshly squeezed fruit juices will remain a more useful alternative.
