Cooking With Que

Juice: Concentrate or Not from Concentrate

I drink orange juice almost every morning, it is my juice of choice. My husband has grape juice almost every morning, that's his juice of choice.

Questions were being asked on some show I was watching about fruit juice, what's the best juice to drink concentrated or unconcentrated … Is it healthy? Is sugar added? In my head I started defending juice ... Yes, it's healthy. I love it, so if it's natural, how could it not be healthy? I’m talking 100% juice not some sugary drink.

I now wanted to know which of the two types is healthiest. Shopping for my morning orange juice, I had to decide which was best for my family!

Let's look at 2 kinds of juice concentrated and unconcentrated. These are what you will most likely encounter at your local market.

Concentrated is pasteurized. The juice from the fruit is pasteurized (heated to kill any pathogens). A pathogen is any disease carrying agent. After it is pasteurized, the water is filtered out from the juice, taking up less room to transport. Once the Juice is transported and ready to be packaged the water is put back into the juice.
Unconcentrated is juice that is pasteurized … and that’s it!

Unconcentrated juice is what I decided for my family because the less it's tampered with works better for me. That extra step is just for financial purposes for the companies that sell juice.

The biggest lesson I got from reading is to check the labels of whatever you buy to see if there are any added sweeteners or preservatives. If not, you are good to go with either.

If you Juice fruits and vegetables make sure you get the correct daily intake and don't forget to drink half of your body weight in water. If you drink vegetable juice you get less sugar than you would from fruit juice. Read labels as Que always says. Now Pat, DRINK THE DAMN JUICE!

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4 Responses to Juice: Concentrate or Not from Concentrate

  1. Jamila at #

    Good to know Pat!

  2. Chels F. at #

    This is good! Do you have any feedback on any feedback on the health benefits of pasteurized vs. raw juice?

    • Without the Pasteurizing process you allow pathogens a way in. “Juices may look alike, but there is a big difference between pasteurized and unpasteurized juices. Pasteurized juices have been heated to high temperatures for a short time in order to kill any bacteria or other microorganisms that may be present.

      When fruits and vegetables are made into fresh-squeezed juice, harmful bacteria may be present and become part of the finished product. Most juice in the United States is pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria. The remaining small percentage of juice sold is unpasteurized. Unpasteurized juice may contain harmful bacteria that could make some people sick.” Jennie Nicols Michigan State University Extension.

  3. Kia at #

    Nice post ☺️

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