It is important that we first make sure that we are clear about what we are discussing in this article. When it comes to freshly squeezed orange juice we mean that which has been taken from the orange and then drank straightaway. As you will discover when you go to the supermarket there are plenty of products on the shelves claiming to be "freshly squeezed" but have on them a shelf life of several days. So is the juice really freshly squeezed if it has been on the shelf for up to a week after being bottled?
No it isn't. What is worse is that most of these freshly squeezed products will have been heat treated in order to ensure that they can be kept on the shelf for longer periods of time. The heat that is applied during the pasteurisation process destroys many of the vital nutrients in the food we eat so that risky pathogens can be removed. But making your own juice at home with a juicer reduces the risks to you. In fact when food is produced on an industrial scale those risks become greater.
There are a few fresh orange juice products where it states it has been gently pasteurised. But this is complete nonsense as it is or isn't pasteurised. When it comes to gently pasteurising do they wear fluffy gloves and place the juice bottles on cushions after the process has been completed? Do we really care? When these terms are used the manufacturer of the juice wants to make it sound as if their product is good for you, when in fact they are only trying to increase their profit margins.
One thing you can be sure of is that the juice will still have been heated and so much of the nutritional value of it has been taken out. Making your own freshly squeezed orange juice at home will ensure that it is perfectly safe and full of those nutrients your body needs. But there are many other benefits to be gained from using your own citrus juice or press in order to make your own fresh orange juice. If you don't drink any fresh juice, below are just some of the many reasons for including real fresh orange juice into your diet.
1. One glass of fresh orange juice will ensure that you get your recommended daily dose of Vitamin C.
2. Fresh orange juice contains flavonoids which can help reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.
3. As well as freshly squeezed orange being high in antioxidants it is high in dietary fibre, thiamine and folates.
4. Studies carried out have proven that fresh orange juice can protect one against cancer and heart disease as well as boost our immune system responses.
5. Drinking fresh orange juice can reduce the damaging effect that free radicals have on the cells in our bodies.
6. There are many different flavonoids and phyto-nutrients in fresh orange juice that can protect you against a number of degenerative diseases.
Actually your daily boost from this fruit couldn't be simpler. Just get some oranges, cut in half and extract the juice using a citrus juicer. It only takes a couple of minutes to do and the benefits are obvious to us all even the most sceptical amongst us. This is because the amount of research that has been carried out by various institutes around the globe.
There are two types of citrus juicers available. There are those which use a motor and those that you need to operate by hand using a lever that helps to squeeze the juice out. The electric types sometimes referred to as citrus reamers operate on the basis that you place half the orange on to a cone that is rotating and which then reams and squeezes the fruit flesh. It extracts the juice but makes sure that the pips are strained away.
With the manual citrus juicer or press it comes with some sort of lever that you pull down on to the orange (cut in half) on to a static cone below. The fruit is simply pressed and the juice extracted filters away into a container below. Both kinds of juicers are quick and easy to use and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and prices to meet ones needs.
If you would prefer your orange juice to have bits in it then go for one that has a coarse pip strainer. However, when you buy fresh orange juice from a juice bar you will see that they use automatic kinds of citrus presses. These are ones where the fruit rolls in a machine, gets cut in half and then will be squeezed in the same way as would happen if you use a manual citrus juicer at home. The whole point of this machine is to ensure that the goodness is retained when your freshly squeezed orange juice is made in just a matter of seconds for you.
Making your own juice at home using an orange juicer provides you a delicious health promoting drink in the same time it would take you to boil the kettle. So this is one of the most effective kitchen activities for you to help maintain good health.
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