Juice is Worth the Squeeze

Q: Dear 100 Hour Board,

I love orange juice. But I hate bad orange juice, you know, bitter or off-tasting. Given the many seasons, the different oranges, weather, etc that when you open any Tropicana Orange Juice bottle they all taste the same? Magic?

OJ

A: Dear Mr. Simpson?

Orange juice is a real delight, especially that fine product "bottled" by Tropicana. A direct product of squeezing - you guessed it - oranges, the product is full of vitamin C (ascorbic acid - good to prevent scurvy) and potassium. Orange juice comes fresh, frozen, concentrated and canned. Concentrated has been a staple of orange juice consumption for a long time, in fact the 100 Hour Board has manufactured it themselves in a lab setting under vacuum. It is even traded on the mercantile exchange as a commodity. (Trading at about $120.45 / side or contract. Contract = 15,000lbs juice).

But our friends at Tropicana have been doing things differently since 1947 - started by Italian Rossi in western Florida. Although it is now owned by PepsiCo. All the juice is fresh - never concentrate - and typically 100% orange juice. Although several additives are combined including calcium, vitamin D, and sometimes extra citric and malic acid to add acidity to counter calcium. Though all the product is pasteurized for safety. So Tropicana begins with a fresh quality product. Do note that over time vitamin C dissipates from the juice, and so is higher in the larger bottles.

Distribution is also unique. From the beginning delivering fresh orange juice was key, and Rossi invested in dedicated trains and ships, including the SS Tropicana which carried 1.5 million gallons of orange juice a week to NY. Even now Tropicana operates the Tropicana-CSX Juice Trains which deliver great, fresh and protected cargo around the country. You can see the Tropicana terminal in Port Newark off to the right side as you head on the I-78 Extension East.

But how about the standard taste all the time? According to Cathy at Tropicana's Cunsumer Response the company focuses on proven blending of orange juice. Although a 8 oz glass takes 3-4 oranges, it more likely contains portions of thousands. Mass blending of quality product ensures a uniform, predictable product that offsets the bitter ones.

Cathy went on to tell the 100 Hour Board about the orange choices:

"We always blend Valencia in with our juice because it is the best tasting variety for juice. We also use other varieties including: ~ Hamlin, Pineapple Sweet, Parson Brown (and, if from Brazil, Valencia and Pera) "

Then she added a caveat to the whole piece:

"Certainly, we don't want to give away all of our secrets (for competitive reasons), but we hope our response is helpful." Examples could fall into quality control methods, expert juicers, chemical analysis, production methods (like the squeezing process) and the like. Measure of quality include brix (sugar % by weight), acidity, citrus oil level, pulp level, pulp cell integrity, color, viscosity, microbiological contamination, mouth feel, and taste.

Hope this sheds some light on that delicious morning treat. I may try their new product Valencia Tropicana Pure. At this site you can experience the "see, hear and feel the flavor." Like listening to the music written specifically as inspired by the juice. Or creating the 'visual' experience yourself. I offer my own creation:

And lastly you can 'feel' the flavor by remixing the music yourself. Again, a shot of my creation:

It's worth a gander.

100HB