Ready to know the best way to store juice to keep it fresh and tasty? In this very guide, I’m about to share the exact tips to help you accomplish this.
Not to mention, fresh juice (fruits/vegetables) contains immunity-boosting nutrition that better utilized when consumed immediately right after the juice is made.
However, making properly squeezed juice takes time, and doing it every single day is simply impossible for people with set schedules. Even when you can’t keep up the right frame of mind, yet wants the daily dose of nutrients, storing juices becomes a necessity.
But, how will you do that?
Well, read on till I finish, and you’ll end up knowing the best way to preserve homemade juices.
7 Tips To Store Juice To Keep Them Fresh & Tasty:
1. Keeping It Cold
When you’re looking to store your juice for extended shelf life, you must keep it cold in the first place. You can store juices in your refrigerator for 24hrs and prevent harmful bacteria from growing. If you need to keep them for longer than that, toss them in a freezer.
When freezing your juice, remember to leave at least ½-inch empty right on the top of your container. This will allow some space for expansion when needed. It is also important that you’re thawing the juices in your refrigerator as opposed to open-air and drink immediately as soon as they are melted.
With that being said, never store vegetable/fruit juice for too long (more than 72 hours) due to several reasons:
- Diminishing quality because of increased oxidation and nutritional loss in the juice
- Unhealthy bacteria may start to grow and upset the stomach
Note: Never drink juice when the flavor gets changed, and turn dark in color. These signs often prove that degradation has happened already, and the juice at this point will be indigestible.
2. Use Glass Container
Keeping food in a container is a traditional and yet very convenient storing method. The same applies to your fruits and vegetable juice that you want to save for later consumption. That said, some people have a tendency to freeze juices in plastic bottles.
I never recommend this since plastic often contains BPA (bisphenol A), and research has shown that this chemical increases the risk of cancer. Based on how acidic your juice is, this content might leach into your juice and contaminate it.
Instead of plastic, using an airtight glass container, particularly a Mason jar, is the best way to store juice and keep them fresh. In addition, try to find a single-serve jar that holds only as much juice as you need to drink all at once. To be more precise, go for containers between 8 oz to 16 oz. You can keep a set of containers and maintain a ‘juice break’ as well.
On top of that, when selecting a jar, make sure the opening is wide enough. Fruit juices often leave stains on the glass, and having it on a container with a narrow mouth will make cleaning difficult. I purchased Brieftons 18 oz Leak-Proof Glass Bottles previously, and it was money well spent.
3. Reduce Oxidation
Oxidation begins minutes after the juice is extracted from a fruit or vegetable flesh as it gets exposed to the air. It accelerates the degradation of cells and thus will have an adverse impact on your food storing process. That’s why it is best to drink the extracted juice within four hours.
However, you can delay the process using some simple tips. At first, try to use vacuum-sealed glass containers when storing your fruit/vegetable juice.
Vacuum sealing is effective in pulling out damaging oxygen, and some of them can even extend shelf life up to seven days. I suggest SANS Reusable Vacuum Pump Smoothie and Shake Saving Glass Bottle for the best results. That said, it is still in your best interest to drink the juice as early as it is prepared.
Another easy approach would be to fill the container to the brim before closing the lid. It will minimize the space for any oxygen to trap within it.
4. Add Honey To The Juice
Honey is a natural preservative that delays pigment changes, and bacterial development hence the quality retains when added into your fruit/vegetable juice. A study even suggests that 10% of honey dilution often boost the freshness in fruits and vegetables and extend their lifespan. Since honey is a natural preservative, there is almost no risk involved either.
You can even add a piece of small lemon in the jar before storing your juices. Citrus fruits (like lemons) contain citric acid, which is a great antioxidant that mitigates oxidation significantly.
5. Store According to Your Juicer
Juicing enthusiasts are leaning more towards dedicated juicers nowadays. However, a question arises, how long can you store the juice processed in a juicer? There is no exact science to this since it also depends on your storing condition and the varying produce you’ll be juicing.
However, studies have found that fruit/vegetable juices pressed in a masticating juicer stay safe for longer than the one extracted in a centrifugal juicer. Centrifugal juicer crushes the produce with a high spinning blade and thus allow oxidation in the process.
That’s way, it is never a good idea to store them in your refrigerator beyond 24 hours when you’re using a centrifugal juicer. On the other hand, a low RPM cold press juicer can expand this to three days in maximum.
6. Traveling with Fruit Juice
If you have to keep fruit juices when going off the places, it is advisable that you’re storing them in a dark or opaque container. This is to avoid photo-degradation that takes place when the juice gets exposed to sunlight (i.e., the ultraviolet ray). Using a cooler bag with ice packs is also suggested to prevent any nutritional loss from happening too early.
7. Store Purchased Juice
Last but not least, you may like to purchase bottled juices and store them for later use. In this case, make sure that you’re buying only the HPP juices. Because these juices are exclusively pressurized to preserve the nutrients without bringing in unnecessary heat or oxidation.
Final Words
So, coming to an end, I hope you’ve realized that drinking your citrus/vegetable juice right after you wrap up juicing is the best approach considering your wellbeing. However, when it is absolutely necessary, keeping it cold for the least of time is the best way to store juice to keep it fresh and tasty.