Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as variations in oranges used, some varieties include differing amounts of juice vesicles, known as "pulp" in American English, and "(juicy) bits" in British English. These vesicles contain the juice of the orange and can be left in or removed during the manufacturing process. How juicy these vesicles are depend upon many factors, such as species, variety, and season. In American English, the beverage name is often abbreviated as "OJ".
Commercial orange juice with a long shelf life is made by pasteurizing the juice and removing the oxygen from it. This removes much of the taste, necessitating the later addition of a flavor pack, generally made from orange products. Additionally, some juice is further processed by drying and later re hydrating the juice, or by concentrating the juice and later adding water to the concentrate.
The health value of orange juice is debatable: it has a high concentration of vitamin C, but also a very high concentration of simple sugars, comparable to soft drinks. As a result, some government nutritional advice has been adjusted to encourage substitution of orange juice with raw fruit, which is digested more slowly, and limit daily consumption.
During World War II, American soldiers rejected vitamin C-packed lemon crystals because of their unappetizing taste. Thus the government searched for a food that would fulfill the nutritional needs of the soldiers, have a desirable taste, and prevent diseases such as scurvy. The federal government and the Florida Department of Citrus worked with a group of scientists to develop a product superior to the canned orange juice available in the 1940s. The result was frozen concentrated orange juice; unfortunately, this was not until three years after the war had ended.
By 1949, orange juice processing plants in Florida were producing over 10 million gallons of concentrated orange juice. Consumers liked concentrated canned orange juice as it was affordable, tasty, convenient, and high in vitamin C. The preparation was simple: empty the container of frozen concentrate into a measured volume of water and stir. However, by the 1980s, food scientists developed a fresher-tasting juice known as reconstituted ready-to-serve juice. Eventually in the 1990s, "not from concentrate" (NFC) orange juice was developed. Orange juice is a common breakfast beverage in the United States.
Due to the importance of oranges to the economy of Florida, "the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids thereof" was adopted as the official beverage of Florida in 1967.
Commercial squeezed orange juice is pasteurized and filtered before being evaporated under vacuum and heat. After removal of most of the water, this concentrate, about 65% sugar by weight, is then stored at about 10 °F. Essences, Vitamin C, and oils extracted during the vacuum concentration process may be added back to restore flavor and nutrition.
When water is added to freshly thawed concentrated orange juice, it is said to be reconstituted.
The product was developed in 1948 at the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center. Since, it has emerged as a soft commodity, and futures contracts have traded in New York since 1966. Options on FCOJ were introduced in 1985. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the product had the greatest orange juice market share, but not-from-concentrate juices surpassed FCOJ in the 1980s.
A small fraction of fresh orange juice is canned. Canned orange juice retains vitamin C much better than bottled juice. The canned product loses flavor, however, when stored at room temperature for more than 12 weeks. In the early years of canned orange juice, the acidity of the juice caused the juice to have a metallic taste. In 1931, Dr. Philip Phillips developed a flash pasteurization process that eliminated this problem and significantly increased the market for canned orange juice.
Fresh-squeezed, the unpasteurized juice is the closest to consuming the orange itself. This version of the juice consists of oranges that are squeezed and then bottled without having any additives or flavor packs inserted. The juice is not subjected to pasteurization. Depending on storage temperature, freshly squeezed, unpasteurized orange juice can have a shelf life of 5 to 23 days.
In the U.S., the major orange juice brand is Tropicana Products (owned by PepsiCo Inc.), which possesses nearly 65% of the market share.
Tropicana also has a large presence in Latin America, Europe, and Central Asia. Competing products include Minute Maid (of The Coca-Cola Company) and Florida's Natural (a Floridian agricultural cooperative that differentiates itself from the competition by being locally owned and using only Florida grown oranges; Tropicana and Simply Orange use a mixture of domestic and foreign stock).
Everyone loves an upside-down cake, but who loves slaving over a hot oven all day? Our Quick Pineapple Upside Down Cake is made in the microwave, so you can transport yourself to a tropical island without all the hassle! Say hello to sunny beaches and great cake, no matter the time of year!
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 (20-ounce) can pineapple rings, drained
- 7 to 10 maraschino cherries
- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of a microwave-safe 10-inch round cake pan or 9- x 13-inch baking dish; dot with the butter. Cook in the microwave at 100 percent power for 1-1/2 minutes. Stir to distribute the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan, then arrange pineapple rings in a single layer over the bottom of the pan; place a cherry in each ring.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Spoon the batter into the pan and microwave at 70 percent power for 14 to 16 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Let the cake stand for 5 minutes. Loosen gently with a knife and invert onto a platter. Serve warm, or allow to cool completely before serving.
2008 – American swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.
And births this date include...
1960 – Sean Penn, American actor and director
