What’s the best way to store your juices and how long can you store them?
The best advice is to NOT store your juices at all since the best quality and nutrition exists right after you juice. Every minute your freshly juiced food is exposed to air it starts to oxidize. Exposure to light will also degrade the juice.
Let’s say you really need to store your juices for later consumption. You will want to use any method you can to make sure there is no air in the container and you should use glass or stainless steel and fill the juice to the brim. Let it overflow if needed to minimize air in your container. Mason Jars are typically used to store juices. Store your juice in a fridge.
Low RPM Juicers vs Centrifugal Juicers produce less degraded Juice and thus store better. The taste of the juice is better too.
How long can you store the juice?
This will depend on the type of juice, conditions of the juicing process and quality of the food prior to juicing. All these things will effect how quickly your juice will degrade once stored. Typically no more than 24 hours. At best 72 hours, but after that forget about it. I would not even recommend more than 48 hours to be honest. Citrus juices will last longer than green juices or tomato juice. Do not attempt to freeze your juices. I know you where thinking that. The freezing process destroys the juice.
(added)
People do freeze their juice or attempt to but degradation of the nutrients still occurs and by freezing you are not only changing the taste once thawed but also degradation still occurs and the color and texture is different. Some juices, like apple cider, will last longer. Freezing should be a last resort at best.
“Pasteurized juice” with preservatives can be stored longer and is what you find at your local store however the pasteurization process destroys most of the nutrients. It’s still healthier than many alternatives but the taste is not as good and will not give you the health benefits of fresh juice.
You can buy certain frozen juice at the store, however you do not get the nutritional benefits and they typically contain more sugar and preservatives.
What you can freeze
You can however freeze the veggies and fruit BEFORE they are juiced. Once juiced you really need to drink it right away. The idea behind fresh juice vs store bought is that the nutritional value and taste is vastly better.
You say it is better to freeze produce and then drink it fresh. Can juicers juice frozen produce, or do you have to dethaw the produce? I can see something like a vitamix doing frozen spinach, etc but difficult to imagine a ‘juicer’, juicing frozen carrots, apples, etc.
Not sure if that was directed to the article or not. I didn’t say it’s better to freeze produce over drinking it fresh. Obviously the best way is to drink it fresh or eat it fresh for that matter. But some people have a need to store juices or want to know if they can be stored and for how long. I think I did say that you could potentially freeze some produce to store it and then juice it later rather than freezing the juice. This is only in relation to trying to store it. You should definately thaw out the produce before juicing.
I’ on day 22 of a 30 day juice cleanse. I have mostly tried to juice and drink fresh,, but as you said, sometimes just not possible, so I make sure to use glass jars and fill to the brim. Good advice for others just starting out on a juicing journey.
Bluze,
Some types of juice can preserve better than others. You can buy frozen juice at the store but the nutritional value is a lot less than fresh juice and they contain preservatives and in many cases more sugar. It’s still a better option than most alternatives.
I’ve added to the article to help clarify some points.
There may be some decent frozen juices with little or no added sugar but your selection will be limited.
Hi Richard. I was referring to freezing of fresh made juice, as your article specifically states that doing so destroys the juice. I was asking for an explanation of your use of ‘destroy’.
I have found a study done in 2007 looking at enzyme activity as a measure of oxidation and degradation in carrot juicing. The study used 3 different types of carrots (2 commercial and 1 organic), and 8 different types/brands of juicing machines. They looked at both amylase and peroxidase enzyme activities, and did so in fresh juice and stored juice (refrigerated and frozen).
The study concluded that freezing preserves more peroxidase activity, and refrigeration more amylase activity. Fresh is best of course, but stored juices do seem to be a viable alternative.
I’m sorry. I neglected to include a link to the study. It can be found at http://www.hacres.com/pdf/documents/other-juice-extractor-comparison-2007.pdf
That’s a good study. It’s good information. It does say overnight which means frozen for 24 hours at best. Freezing and then thawing pretty really harms the juice in a lot of ways. I did further investigation and some say they do it but most say it doesn’t work. You can of course buy frozen juice but that has been processed in a way as to preserve the juice with the trade off being greatly diminished nutritional value. Different juices are effected differently by freezing. discountjuicers.com also recommends not freezing juices. But hey if someone has luck with it and it works for them then why not.
I may do more research and make another post at some point. As a general rule the best way is to drink it within 45 minutes after you juice it.
I wish the author would give more information as to the specific damage done to the juice. What does “destroys” mean? Does it mean flavor and texture are changed? Does it mean nutritional value becomes nil?
I am in a unique position where juicing on a daily basis cannot be done. I work in the oil field, where I stay in an RV that I pull to the job site. Potable water is not available. We use non-potable water for showering, and supply our own bottled drinking water. So washing of produce out here would require a LOT of purchased bottled water.
Furthermore, we are often 90 minutes (one way) from a grocer. When you’re working 12+ hour days for 30-60 days without a day off, running to the grocer every 3 days for produce is not an option.
There has to be a way to freeze juice and retain its nutritional value. I hope the author will comment on this and give more information.