I can recount several hot days when I had to down a couple glasses of cold orange juice; it’s always such a refreshing feeling. Orange juice, whether store-bought or freshly squeezed, is always delicious.
However, orange juice isn’t just delicious, but it’s also rich in vitamin C. Just like other members of the citrus family, oranges supply us with a large amount of vitamin C that helps lower risk of severe illnesses, reduce risk of HBP and heart disease, boost immunity, and lots more.
Orange juice is also packed with potassium, folate, and antioxidants. It can potentially reduce risk of kidney stones and improve our heart’s health. Orange juice is a favorite in several households – it can be served alongside other breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. If you don’t want to squeeze fresh orange juice yourself, you can purchase quality orange juice packs from your grocery store.
Assuming you’ve squeezed too much orange juice, and now you’re left with some excess juice, what do you do?
Can you freeze orange juice? Yes, you can freeze orange juice. Freezing can be effectively used to preserve the quality of orange juice over a long period of time. Instead of leaving your orange juice out to spoil, just place it in the freezer to keep for months. If done correctly, your orange juice can be preserved for up to 12 months in the freezer.
Since it is possible to increase the shelf life of orange juice through freezing, you can decide to stock up on it. If you prefer store-bought juice, you can get several cartons to keep in the freezer; those who squeeze theirs at home can do that in large batches for long-term storage in the freezer.
Freezing Orange Juice
Store-bought cartons of orange juice will usually have a best before date that guarantees preservation of their quality before that date. However, once a carton of orange juice has been opened, you can’t leave it on the shelf for long anymore. It is at this point that you’ll need to adopt freezing for long-term preservation.
There are some important steps that must be followed when you want to freeze your homemade or store-bought orange juice. Following these steps will ensure that your batch of orange juice freezes well without much of its original flavor changing.
You should know that when a batch of orange juice has been freshly squeezed for freezing, you shouldn’t leave it out for too long – the juice should be frozen shortly after preparation. If you freeze low-quality juice, you’ll get poor results from freezing it.
Also, after orange juice has been frozen for quite some time, the juice way become a little watery. However, such changes aren’t really a bother; you’ll still enjoy your cold orange juice.
How to Freeze Orange Juice
There are different things to consider when you want to freeze your orange juice. For instance, it is better to freeze orange juice without pulp than to freeze with pulp. If you’ve purchased orange juice with pulp, you can strain out the juice and separate the pulp before freezing it.
For your convenience, here are two distinct set of steps for freezing orange juice in plastic containers and in ice cube trays.
Freezing Orange Juice in Plastic Containers
Plastic containers are great for preserving orange juice in the freezer. Here are some easy steps to follow:
- Start by getting a plastic container that isn’t too large – you may need to get more than one plastic container if you have plenty orange juice to freeze. It is much better to freeze the orange juice in smaller portions that can be finished at once after being defrosted, rather than freezing the juice in one large container that’ll leave you with excess juice after being defrosted.
- After getting the needed plastic containers, go ahead to fill them with the orange juice. You shouldn’t leave too much air space in the containers. Air facilitates the rate at which juice spoils. However, you’ll still need to leave a little space in the container for the orange juice to expand. Filling the plastic container to the brim will cause the expanded orange juice to leak and mess up your freezer.
- Once the plastic containers have been filled, seal off their lids tightly. Properly sealing the lid will ensure that the juice doesn’t come directly in contact with cold freezer air or leak out of the containers.
- Use a marker to write the present date on the plastic container.
Freezing Orange Juice in Ice Cube Trays
Freezing orange juice in ice cube trays gives you some benefits. Orange juice frozen in ice cube trays will be a lot easier to defrost and effortless to measure in recipes. Here are some simple steps for freezing your orange juice in ice cube trays:
- Grab an ice cube tray and fill up the cubes with your orange juice – you should know the measure of orange juice going into each cube.
- The next step is to pre-freeze the orange juice in the ice cube trays. Simply place the tray with orange juice inside the freezer and leave it there for an hour.
- Once the orange juice cubes have frozen totally, take them out of the freezer and start transferring them into a resealable freezer-safe bag.
- Write the present date on the plastic bag for future reference.
How to Defrost Frozen Orange Juice
When you want to defrost your frozen orange juice, you can either defrost it in the refrigerator or thaw with water. Thawing through refrigeration actually takes several hours, however it is an effective method. It is best to allow the frozen orange juice to sit in the freezer overnight. Frozen orange juice cubes will thaw a lot faster than a large container of juice. Thawing by refrigeration can take up to half a day.
A faster alternative to refrigeration is to thaw the frozen orange juice with water. Fill up a bowl with water at room temperature and submerge the container of orange juice in it. Leave the container inside the water till it thaws completely.