The primary process for making concentrated fruit juice involves removing water from natural fruit juice through heat treatment and evaporation. This leaves behind a more flavorful, concentrated liquid.
Here's a breakdown of the process:
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Fruit Preparation: The process starts with selecting and preparing the fruit. This involves washing, sorting, and sometimes peeling the fruit.
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Juice Extraction: The juice is extracted from the fruit using various methods, such as pressing, crushing, or enzymatic treatment. The extraction method depends on the type of fruit being processed.
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Pre-Treatment (Optional): The extracted juice may undergo pre-treatment steps like clarification (removing pulp and solids) or enzymatic treatment to improve its quality and stability.
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Concentration: This is the core of the process. The juice is concentrated by removing water. The most common method is:
- Evaporation: The juice is heated under vacuum conditions to lower the boiling point of water. This allows the water to evaporate without damaging the flavor and nutrients of the juice. Multi-effect evaporators are often used to increase energy efficiency. This process typically removes a significant portion of the water content.
- Other Methods: While evaporation is the most common, other methods such as freeze concentration (freezing water into ice crystals and then removing them) are also used.
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Aroma Recovery (Optional): During evaporation, volatile aroma compounds can be lost. Some manufacturers use aroma recovery systems to capture these compounds and add them back to the concentrate, enhancing the flavor.
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Cooling and Storage: The concentrated juice is rapidly cooled to prevent spoilage and maintain quality. It's then stored in sterile containers, often under refrigerated or frozen conditions, to preserve its flavor and nutritional value.
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Packaging and Distribution: The concentrated juice is packaged for retail or industrial use.
In Summary: The production of concentrated fruit juice is a process of extracting juice from fruit, and then carefully removing water through heat and evaporation to increase the solids content and intensify the flavor.
