Preserving Florida Citrus Fruits


culture investigators have found, by heating the juice to 1650 F.
in an open aluminum vessel, filling hot, sterilized bottles imme-
diately with the hot juice to overflowing and capping at once.
Thus all air is excluded. Place bottled juice in water at 165 F.
and hold 30 minutes to sterilize. Experiments show that it is
highly important that the bottles be completely filled, so that no
layer of air will be left between the top of the juice and the cork
or seal. When air in any amount comes in contact with the top
of the sterilized juice it will cause the juice to change its color.
In handling the juice it is also important that it be kept from
coming into contact with iron or other metals easily acted upon
by fruit acids.
 Grapefruit juice so handled will keep from season to season,
 and provides a base for "grapefruit ade" or other acid beverages
 and has the characteristic acid, somewhat bitter flavor of the fruit.
 Orange Juice
 Orange juice is delicious and wholesome, however no satisfac-
 tory method for keeping bottled orange juice in the home any
 great length of time has yet been devised.
 Orange juice does not retain its fresh, delightful flavor in the
 bottle but tends in six to eight weeks to develop a "stale" and
 disagreeable taste. However, it may be bottled in combination
 with other citrus juices for home use if conditions warrant it. In
 this case, cut the oranges in halves and extract juice with a
 reamer. Or the fruit may be washed, crushed and pressed. Leav-
 ing the oil and yellow pulp in juice adds flavor. Bottle and pas-
 teurize 30 minutes at 1650 F.
 The use of sugar greatly decreases the tendency of orange juice
 to become "stale." A mixture of sweet orange juice, lemon,
 Rangpur lime, calamondin or Seville or sour orange juice and
 sugar, makes a most palatable and wholesome orange juice, even
 after a year's storage.
 To, extract the juice, wash fruit thoroughly, crush and press.
 Mix one part sour orange juice to four parts sweet orange juice
 and add 2 to 3 pounds of sugar, depending upon acidity of fruit
 used, to one gallon juice. Heat until all sugar is dissolved. Bottle
 while hot and pasteurize at 1650 F. for 30 minutes.
 To serve, dilute with twice its volume of water, carbonated
 preferred. Fresh, cloudy, unfiltered juices are much superior in
 flavor to the filtered juices.