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How to Store Fresh Juice

Fresh juice is best consumed within twenty minutes of juicing, but that’s not always practical, right? With our busy schedules, most of us do not have the time to make fresh juice several times in a day. It will be nice if we can take fresh juice to the office or the gym.

The biggest issue for storing juice is oxidation. The process of juicing the fruits and vegetables, the enzymes and nutrients are released from the fiber. Some of these nutrients are very sensitive to air, heat, light and time, causing for degeneration.

Clearly, drinking fresh juice right out of the juicer is more beneficial. However, if you follow the tips below, you can make a big batch of fresh juice and save it for later.

1.) Use the right juicer and stick to organic fruits and vegetables

How long the juice stays fresh sometimes depend on the machine you are using. Centrifugal juicers (extractors) create some heat and friction during the process of juicing and this causes oxidation to the juice itself. Obviously, this will compromise the freshness of the juice. Sure you can store juice made with an extractor but this is not recommended if you want to take advantage of the nutrients before oxidative damage begins. You will notice that extracted juice from a centrifugal juicer starts to taste a little funny a few hours after juicing.

For your choice of fruits and vegetables, it’s better to stick to organic. Juice extracted from organic produce generally stays fresh longer. This is because it starts out with high amounts of nutrients and since the juicing process decreases some of the nutrients, it’s always best to start out with more.

2.) Use the right container

Won’t it be great if we can just re-use water bottles to store fresh juice? Thin plastic containers promote rapid oxidation and this is the last thing you want when storing fresh juice. The best containers to keep your juice fresh include mason jars or glass quilted jelly canning jars and Aquasana glass bottles.

3.) Length of time fresh juice can be stored

There is no solid answer to this because the freshness of the juice depends on factors like the type of juicer you are using, what kind of produce is being juiced and your method of storing the juice. Fresh citrus juice tends to last longer because they contain antioxidants that can slow down oxidation.

On the other hand, apples oxidize quickly which is why they turn brown in a matter of seconds. As a rule of thumb, do not store the juice made with an extractor longer than 8 hours. If you are using a low rpm juicer, toss the juice after 24 hours.

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