Concentrate juice, also known as fruit juice concentrate or concentrated juice, contains far less water than normal, or not-from-concentrate forms of juice. Through a set of advanced filtration and extraction processes, normal fruit juice becomes better suited for storage, shipping and resale in grocery stores and warehouses.
The Fruit Juice Process
When fruits reach their ripening point, they get picked and prepared for the juice extraction process. Machines allow for a fast peeling and coring process that removes the pieces of the fruit that will not get used for the juice making process. The meat of the fruit gets pressed and squeezed and the juices become filtered into a large container, which will still include pieces of pulp and other remnants.
This liquid either gets pasteurized or remains in the natural state for a not-from-concentrate fruit juice. Concentrate juice takes a few more steps which involves both adding and subtracting certain chemicals and natural fruit byproducts in order to provide a more condensed version of natural fruit juice.
The Concentration Process
In order for natural fruit juice to get converted into concentrated juice, the diluted liquid must receive a heat treatment that evaporates nearly all of the water from the naturally squeezed mixture. Once the water gets depleted from the liquid, only the flavorful contents remain behind.
This concentrate juice then becomes more powerful through reverse osmosis. The contents get packaged, froze and stored or shipped.
Several parties feel as though concentrated juice contains harmful ingredients or actually lessens the nutritional value of the natural fruit juice. However, the concentration process literally works to keep the nutrients found within fruits by only removing water which dilutes the overall mixture.
Store bought fruit juice concentrates sometimes contain additives that work to maintain color, flavor and nutritional content within the juice. Mainly, the concentration process occurs only to extend the life of the fruit juice and save money for fruit harvesting and juicing companies which sell their products.
If all juices were sold as not-from-concentrate products, an excessive amount of fruits would go to waste, namely because fresh juices go bad much more quickly than frozen concentrate juice varieties.
When compared to not-from-concentrate juices, the actual concentrated forms of similar fruit juices provide equal nutritional content. However, much like dried fruit, one serving size of non diluted concentrate juice compared to an equal serving size of not from concentrate juice will greatly differ in nutritional content.
When fresh fruit gets dried, it loses all of its natural water content, shrinking in size. This process works identical in fruit juices as well. The natural state of freshly squeezed fruit juice contains far more water weight volume than that of a concentrated comparison. Consequently, one cup of non diluted concentrate juice will contain purely sugars and nutrients found within the fruit, while the same serving size of bottled juice varieties will contain only a fraction of those same nutrients.
Most concentrated juices get used to make diluted juices. The main objective of juice concentration involves saving time, money and space.