Orange juice is juice of oranges which is made by squeezing the fruit.
In American English, the beverage name is often abbreviated as “OJ”.
It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine.
Orange juice is enjoyed throughout the world. In fact, surveys reveal that it is the world’s most popular fruit juice. Manufacturers produce around 1.6 billion metric tons of this beverage each year.
The word “orange” derives from the Sanskrit word for “orange tree” (नारङ्ग nāraṅga), which is probably of Dravidian origin. The Sanskrit word reached European languages through Persian نارنگ (nārang) and its Arabic derivative نارنج (nāranj).
The word “juice” comes from Old French in about 1300 – it developed from the Old French words “jus, juis, jouis”, which mean “liquid obtained by boiling herbs”.
Although orange juice has been around for a long time, dating back to the 17th century. In the 1900s, drinking orange juice on the west was just not a thing.
Prior to 1920, the orange was mainly considered a dessert fruit. The spread of orange-juice drinking, in contrast with eating of the fresh fruit, significantly increased the per capita consumption of oranges.
During World War II, American soldiers rejected vitamin C-packed lemon crystals because of their unappetizing taste. Thus the government searched for a food that would fulfill the nutritional needs of the soldiers, have a desirable taste, and prevent diseases such as scurvy. The federal government and the Florida Department of Citrus worked with a group of scientists to develop a product superior to the canned orange juice available in the 1940s. The result was frozen concentrated orange juice – unfortunately, this was not until three years after the war had ended.
In 1944, after three years of research American scientists at the Florida Department of Citrus found a way to concentrate fruit juice in a vacuum and freeze it without destroying the flavor or vitamin content. Frozen concentrated juices were first sold in the United States the following year.
By 1949, orange juice processing plants in Florida were producing over 10 million gallons of concentrated orange juice. Consumers liked concentrated canned orange juice as it was affordable, tasty, convenient, and high in vitamin C. The preparation was simple: empty the container of frozen concentrate into a measured volume of water and stir.
However, by the 1980s, food scientists developed a fresher-tasting juice known as reconstituted ready-to-serve juice.
Eventually in the 1990s, “not from concentrate” (NFC) orange juice was developed. Orange juice is a common breakfast beverage in the United States.
Orange juice is widely considered one of the healthiest beverages because of its wide range of health benefits, which include its ability to boost immune system function, reduce signs of aging, protect against cancer, boost cellular repair and metabolism, detoxify the body, improve circulation, improves blood pressure, reduces inflammation, and lowers cholesterol levels.
Orange juice is a concentrated source of vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin that doubles as a powerful antioxidant and plays a central role in immune function. Additionally, vitamin C helps promote bone formation, wound healing, and gum health.
Orange juice is very high in antioxidants. Antioxidants in orange juice promote health by preventing oxidative damage — an imbalance between antioxidants and unstable molecules known as free radicals.
Research shows that antioxidants are crucial to maintaining overall health. They may even help protect against chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Orange juice is also rich in folate, which is needed for DNA synthesis and supports fetal growth and development.
There are 118 calories in 250 ml of orange juice.
Depending on storage temperature, freshly squeezed, unpasteurized orange juice can have a shelf life of 5 to 23 days.
Due to the importance of oranges to the economy of Florida, “the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids thereof” was adopted as the official beverage of Florida in 1967.
About 90% of Florida’s orange crop is used to produce orange juice.
The top 3 orange juice producers globally are Brazil, followed by the United States and Mexico.
In the US, the major orange juice brand is Tropicana Products (owned by PepsiCo Inc.), which possesses just under two thirds of the market share.
A single cup of processed orange juice contains the same amount of sugar as two entire oranges.
The most orange juice extracted in one minute is 880 millilitres (0.19 gal) and was achieved by Ulas Bas (Turkey) at the GWR Live! Roadshow at Forum Mersin, in Mersin, Turkey, on 20 June 2010.
The largest glass of freshly squeezed orange juice measures 1,525 litres (335.45 UK gal) and was achieved by Altadis (Spain), in Valencia, Spain, on 24 November 2016. The record attempt lasted exactly one hour with 400 participants taking part.