Some drinks are a tight squeeze

What do satellite imagery and a “black book of algorithms” have to do with beverages? I have one word for you: CocaCola. These technologies are now being used by the soft-drinks giant in its two-decade-old juice line, Simply Orange.

The company uses satellite imaging to pick its oranges at just the right ripeness. Every batch of juice is measured on parameters such as sweetness, acidity, etc. The algorithm matches this analysis with its database on customer preferences and the 600-plus flavour markers that make up “orange”. Using that framework, it combines different batches just right for a consistent flavour.

All this balance and planning are essential because this product’s only ingredient is oranges. (The leftover peel is used too, oil and aromatics extracted and added to the juice for a fresh orange flavour.)

That’s quite a lot of advanced technology for a simple concept: “Squeeze fruit, get juice.” Why does store-bought juice always get so complicated?

For one thing, most fruits are only in season part of the year. It takes a lot of modern technology to make orange juice possible in autumn, and grape juice all year round. For another, as soon as a fruit is squeezed, live enzymes start the slow process of breaking down the pulp and juice; unrefrigerated, it takes mere hours for it to spoil.

To prevent microbial growth, most companies either flash-pasteurise (heated to high temperatures quickly and cooled quickly thereafter) or concentrate (boiling off excess water) their juice. It is then stored in de-aeration tanks to keep it from oxidising. These steps can extinguish fresh flavour compounds, so some companies add artificial flavours such as ethyl butyrate, and artificial colours just before packaging.

There are juice companies that avoid dealing with fruits and their live enzymes altogether. They add artificial fruit flavours, colours, stabilisers and acidity regulators to sugar and water, and paste a picture of a corresponding fruit on the front of the pack.

Such products don’t qualify to use the term “juice”. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) mandates that any pack with the word “juice” on it must contain a minimum of 10% actual fruit juice (5% for lime / lemon). That’s why such packs are tagged “cocktail”, “beverage”, “delight”.

The next thing to check for is added sugar. Companies have to account for variations in fruit flavour between farms, between harvests. The easiest way to do this is to add sugar and acids. To avoid added sugars, buy packs that say “100% juice”. This means the product does not have any ingredient that diminishes the amount of juicesoluble solids. (Small amounts of natural or artificial flavours, artificial sweeteners, vitamins and preservatives are allowed).

If you wish to buy a juice without preservatives, look for a Tetra Pak. This invention from Sweden, popular since the 1960s, avoids preservatives through a process called aseptic packaging. The juice box is literally built around the juice as it is filled up, in a sanitised environment. (It may still contain other additives such as sweeteners or stabilisers, so watch out for those.)

Another process that preserves juices without added preservatives is high-pressure processing (or Pascalization, after 17thcentury French scientist Blaise Pascal). These are the juices labelled “Raw” or “Cold Pressed”. This process does not use heat to kill microbes. Instead, it uses intense levels of pressure — much, much more pressure, in fact, than in the depths of an ocean.

To reach Swetha Sivakumar with questions or

feedback, email upgrademyfood@gmail.com