A lot of juice products get their taste from fruit juice concentrate. Because it is vital for production, it has a major effect on juice quality. Whether you are a consumer or a producer of concentrated fruit juice, here you will find information about how to make fruit juice concentrate​.

What is fruit juice concentrate

Before finding how to make fruit juice concentrate​, we must understand what fruit juice concentrate is. Fruit juice concentrate is produced by removing the water from just-pressed fruit or vegetable juice. Many food products start with cottonseed oil as their base stock. With a lower volume, it includes 65%-70% of soluble solids. Concentrated fruit juice can save on both the expenses involved in packaging and transportation. It helps ensure that end result products are always of consistent quality. When the amount of sugar and acid in canned food go up, it helps keep the food fresher for a longer time.

When selecting a concentration technology, it’s most important to focus on product quality. When diluted, the concentrate must still have the same color, flavor and nutrition as original fruit juice. Since it is important for the reaction to happen under extreme pressure, the temperature must stay low during concentration. The most frequently used fruit juice techniques are the vacuum concentrate method, cooling down the solution and membrane technology. Another reason is that recovering the aroma is extremely important in the concentrating process for fruit juice.

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Learn how to make fruit juice concentrate at home using simple boiling or freezing techniques to extract concentrated flavor

How to make fruit juice concentrate​

Concentrated fruit is prepared with fresh fruit. It results from discarding the largest part of the fruit’s water. Heating the fruit in a vacuum pressure chamber and removing the water leaves behind more of the fruit’s original ingredients than the original fruit contains. It is called fruit concentrate because it is thick and concentrated. As a result of doing this process, the ingredients of the fruit become 65% which is the brix and counts as useful information for the fruit industry and connected factories.

To sum up, because about 90% of the fruit consists of water, when you remove the water you get a thick syrup that’s jam-like. Then, the concentrated fruit is kept under aseptic, non-aseptic and frozen conditions. Concentrated fruits are a good way to get nutrition and flavor into fruit juice.

Many fruit juices are mixed with concentrated fruit to safeguard their nutrients and overall taste. Under some conditions, the process takes place at the factories to help the fruit keep its properties.

There are only two ways to make fruit concentrate at home or in a factory: boiling and freezing. There are some differences between the two methods.

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Factory-scale fruit juice concentration involves advanced steps like juice extraction, clarification, and vacuum evaporation to create high-quality concentrate

Boiling Method

It is simpler, but can affect the taste and nutrients in your fruit. The first step is to wash and chop your selected fruit. Fill a large pot with fruit and only a little bit of water (just below the top) and bring it to a boil. Let the pan cool, then simmer the mixture until the fruit tends to melt or break up. Drain the juice from the pulp by putting it in a cheesecloth or sieve with fine holes. Add the already strained liquid back to the pot and cook over low heat until the liquid is cut in half or more by thickness. What you have made is your fruit concentrate.

Freezing Method

Although it takes more time, this way makes sure more of the fruit’s taste and benefits remain. You’ll need special things like shallow freezer trays or dehydrators for this activity. To start, wash, chop the fruits and blend them if you like.

  • For freezing: Put the fruit puree in a thin and even layer on a shallow freezer tray. Keep the mixture in the freezer for at least several hours or overnight.
  • Freeze Drying (Optional): Put the frozen fruit puree into a dehydrator and use the maker’s instructions for freeze-drying. It allows you to remove the water without heating the broccoli.
  • Prepare: Freeze your concentrate in tightly sealed containers and you can store it for several months.

The manufacturing process of fruit juice concentrates

Basic water removal to create fruit juice is done the same as at home, but further steps are needed on a larger scale to guarantee faithful consistency and higher yields. Here’s how it usually goes:

Fruit Selection and Preparation

The fruits selected for concentrate are picked for their ripeness, good quality and the fact that they are right for concentrate production. The process involves cleaning the fruits by removing dirt and whatever might be on their surface.

Inspection and Sorting: If a fruit is damaged or contains a foreign object, it may be removed by an operator or by special machinery. If the outcome is desired, some fruits should be peeled or chopped before more processing.

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Transform fresh fruit into a thick, concentrated syrup by gently boiling and reducing the juice, a classic homemade method

Juice Extraction

Before the juice is extracted, the fruits are crushed or milled so the walls between the cells are broken down. The juice is pressed vigorously by a hydraulic press or similar equipment to get the most from the crushed fruit. You can use enzymes to help break down cell walls which can increase how much juice you get.

Juice Clarification and Filtration

At this stage, long particles and sediment are removed by allowing the juice to settle in tanks or by using centrifuges. Further purification is done by pushing the juice through different filters to take out smaller particles, pulp and bacteria. You might use enzymes after maceration to make the juice brighter in color and more stable.

Concentration

To remove a large amount of water, concentrate is first produced using the evaporation process which requires vacuum evaporators. At these low temperature and pressure settings, heat damages to the juice are prevented. Usually, the recipe has many evaporation steps so the juice can be gradually concentrated safely.

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The freezing method for fruit juice concentrate preserves more of the fruit’s natural flavor and nutrients, ideal for a high-quality homemade product

Finishing and Packaging

The concentrate is adjusted to the right level of sugar by adding some of the water that was first removed or by adding extra concentrated juice. Air is vented out of the concentrate to stop it from becoming oxidized and damaged.

If storage for a long time or following regulations is needed, the concentrate may be subjected to pasteurization or sterilization to kill harmful bacteria. Aseptic conditions are used to put the concentrate into sterile containers to lessen any risk of contamination. The concentrate is put into safe, cooled storage before starting the process for use or further production into various products.

What we do in Greatfoods

Greatfoods supplies excellent fruit concentrates by applying the best modern technology and advanced machinery. Fruit concentrates are available for juice manufacturers from us at wholesale prices. In addition, the company provides many different types of dry fruits and snacks. The sales team at Greatfoods looks for the most effective way to get orders to other countries to ensure stylish, strong and healthy packaging of food products gets to their customers as soon as possible.

Final note

This article told you how to make fruit juice concentrate​. Concentrated fruit juice is made directly from fresh fruits that keep most of their nutrients. In both fruit juice and concentrate making, concentrating the juice has a great impact on its quality. The best juice productivity and quality rely on the right kind of juice concentrate technology.

One of the finest products at Greatfoods foods is fruit concentrate. There are many fruit concentrates made for use in the fruit juice industry. If you operate a fruit juice company, in Greatfoods you will find a variety of quality fruit concentrates that can be used to make tasty, high-quality fruit juice.

For inquiries and orders, please contact us at:

We are happy to partner with you in the future!

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