Juice

From ArticleWorld

Juice is the term used to describe the liquid contained in vegetables, fruits, plants and animals. It is an extremely rich source of essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and healing phytochemicals. Drinking juices is the simplest way of adding vegetables and fruits to the diet.

Freshly squeezed juices should be had immediately to enjoy its full flavor. Fresh frozen juices are usually frozen immediately post extraction and thus retain most of the nutrients and flavor. Frozen juice concentrates are made by extracting juice, pasteurizing it, extracting the water and then freezing the concentrated portion. These need to be diluted with water before drinking. Canned juices may be made from one kind of fruit or a blend of fruits. It may often be artificially sweetened. Squash is not a kind of juice, it is an artificial flavoring to be diluted with water before drinking.

Types

There are mainly two types of juices – vegetable juice and fruit juice.

Vegetable juice is a healthier drink as it contains fewer calories. Such juices cannot b made from all vegetables, only a select few. The most common vegetables used are carrot, tomato, pumpkin, beetroot etc.

Fruit juices are rich in vitamin content. Almost all fruits can be juiced so a large variety is available in this range. Popular fruits for juices are orange, apple, guava, peach, pear, cherry, all melons, grape and berries like cranberry, blueberry etc.

Storage

Juices can be found at all grocery and health stores. Freshly squeezed juice may be stored under refrigeration for upto three days. Canned juices can be stored in a cool dry place in an unopened condition for about 3 – 6 months, depending on the variety. Frozen juice concentrates can be stored in the freezer for around one month. Once bottled or canned juices have been opened, it may be kept in the refrigerator to be consumed within three days.