Not at all! Fruit marketing boards are very selective with the kind of fruit they accept. The fruit must be a certain size, a certain colour, without any blemishes and picked in their prime. As a result, the fruit that is juiced may be too big or two small, not the perfect colour, may have a nick on the skin or picked slightly after their prime.
The name of the juice produced from pressing apples can vary from country to country, and region to region.
In many regions, apple juice that is cloudy, or what we like to call ‘natural’ (produced simply by pressing apples), is called ‘cider’. In some areas ‘cider’ is considered alcoholic, so non-alcoholic juice must be called ‘soft cider’.
In many regions, only juice that has been clarified can be called ‘juice’.
You will notice that the juice obtained from pressing is cloudy (natural), compared to most juices purchased in retail outlets. That cloudiness is the signature of simply pressed juice. It hasn’t undergone the additional processing to make it clear.
The product produced from the Mobile Juice Factory is clean fruit, pressed, flash pasteurized, and packaged. That is it. Nothing is added.
Fruit juice that you purchase in a retail outlet may be subject to additional levels of processing including creating concentrate from the original fruit juice (removing the water), storing and shipment, rehydrating (changing it back from concentrate to the original juice, by adding water, adding sugar to match the natural levels of non-concentrated juice) and filtering. Juice concentrate is produced from countries all over the world.
The world’s number one source of apple juice concentrate is China, followed by Argentina and Chile. Imports are mostly concentrated non-frozen. (Source: Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, July 2013)
We don’t call it ‘cloudy’; we call it ‘natural’. The natural juice is a result of the minuscule pieces of apple that pass through the pressing cloth. Only when it is filtered (removing the tiny pieces of apple) several more times, will the juice become clear.
Did you know that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is called that because the oil is produced from the first press of the olives? That makes the olive oil ‘extra’ or premium. We like to believe the same is true for apples. The less it is processed, the more natural the juice is.
The juice can last up to one year unopened, 3 months after opening. It does not require refrigeration.
Special packaging and the flash pasteurizing. In particular, the spout that releases the juice does not allow air to be drawn into the package, and that extends the shelf life. Mobile Juice Factory juice is flash-pasteurized. It is exposed to high temperatures for a few seconds. If the correct temperature is not reached for the specified amount of time, the press shuts down.
Orchardists are the primary users of the Mobile Juice Factory, simply because they have a high volume of fruit.
Private tree owners can also turn their fruit into juice. Public juicing events are scheduled during the harvest. Bring your apples (clean and free of debris) to an event and go home with freshly-pressed juice. On occasion, neighbours with many fruit trees and a sufficient amount of fruit will schedule a Mobile Juice Factory session, exclusively for their group.
100% apple juice is when the juice comes strictly from apples and no other fruit. That is why even if juice comes from concentrate, it can still be classified as 100% apple juice. If apple juice is mixed with any other fruit juice, it can only be called “juice”. The proportions should also be stated on the packaging such as “90% apple juice and 10% pear juice”. Juices are sometimes blended to create different tastes. If Delicious apple juice is blended with Ambrosia apple juice, it is still 100% apple juice.
You can buy our juice right here on our website!
See how we can help you out with our wide array of on-site juicing services, or come see us at a juicing event!
