Rants: Tropicana Orange "Juice" or Why I Started Squeezing My Own OJ
Very Disappointed!
I don't know about you, but when I buy orange juice from Tropicana, (which I won't be doing ever again, after this,) I expect to get actual orange juice. Not "orange juice beverage," which if I had examined the carton more closely I would have realized that was what this new %50 Tropicana Orange Juice actually is. There's only about %20 juice in it. Twenty percent! Here's the background: It was around seven thirty in the evening when I went grocery shopping and despite my usual habit of closely examining everything I put into my cart, I was in a rush and saw %50 less sugar... "Ah, we should try this, it'd be more healthy for Lau," I thought to myself. After bringing it home my boyfriend made a cocktail for himself and immediately looked in my direction... "Ah, honey... did you read this carton? It's like, %20 juice. And it tastes god-awful."
"No way, it's Tropicana, honey. It's less sugar, it'll be better for us all, and hey, Lau won't have a complete sugar buzz going on after a glass of juice."
"Uh, sweetie, look at the carton."
As always, you have to look at the carton. Right at the bottom in such tiny print that you can't see it on the photo (and any other photo I took,) it says, "juice beverage," in other words, not real juice. I was pissed, I just spent close to five bucks on something I'd akin to being a little more healthy than Sunny D.
Very Cute Girl Making O.J. (Not Me.)
The Result...
The next morning I ran out to my local grocers and bought two bags of oranges. Oranges in hand, I ran a couple of doors down to the local dollar store and bought the most ridiculously lousy juicer in the world. It works, though, and when I got home I got to work. I added this video of someone making fresh squeezed orange juice... (I love how she's wearing a sweat shirt over her itty-bitty boy shorts... all I can think is that her legs look so cold!) I made about 40 ounces or so of orange juice with a couple of bags of oranges. I gave some to Lau and Eric and both of them raved. "Mom, this is the best orange juice I ever tasted!" Eric said: "Well, it's nice for a special treat, but I wouldn't expect you to make it all the time..."
"Really? That is too bad, because I don't want to buy commercial orange juice anymore."
"Really? That is awesome, I could get used to this."
Further Encouragement...
A couple days ago I ran across an article in Time Magazine called: "Sustainably Squeezed?" which details how Tropicana, from the growing fields to your glass, emits 3.75 pounds of greenhouse gases per 64 ounce carton. It's shocking, to me at least, that most of this amount is caused by fertilizer production / application... not in packaging and transportation. I've cut the article out and pasted it to my fridge for extra encouragement whenever my hand gets tired from all that juicing.
Here's a link to the TIME article for your perusal...
- PepsiCo Tests Fertilizer to Cut Tropicana CO2 Emissions - TIME
PepsiCo, owner of the juice brand Tropicana, is experimenting with greener farming methods in order to reduce the carbon footprint of a morning glass of OJ.
Unexpected Side Benefits...
Now, we go through a couple of bags of oranges every 2-3 days. It seems like it may be a little more expensive for us, but the taste and quality is fantastic.
Also, we go through a lot less juice. All I have to do is drop a pointed reminder now and then to my daughter and boyfriend that it took me 45 minutes, (it didn't,) to make that juice and they pour themselves a glass of water instead.
There's very little in the way of packaging, so I feel like that is an environmental boon, as well.
A Word of Warning...
Of course, it is unpasteurized juice, so I recommend washing the oranges off thoroughly before juicing them and not giving fresh squeezed orange juice to infants and toddlers who may not have the natural immunities built up that older children and adults have.
Also, there aren't any preservatives, so I feel like the amount of orange juice we make, (1-2 bags of oranges every 2-3 days,) is perfect. You probably don't want to make much more than that or let it sit in the fridge too long or it'll go bad.
You should also be aware that after some time of the OJ sitting in the fridge the juice pulp and the water from the juice, (yep, oranges contain water,) separates. So before serving you might want to give it a quick stir.
Do you squeeze your own orange juice?
See results without votingIn Conclusion...
That's my rant... thanks for sticking it out and making it this far with me. Do you squeeze at home? Leave a comment and let us know why you've chosen to do this. Do you not squeeze? Do the same and we promise we won't burn you at the stake.
Comments
I love the taste of fresh orange juice. When my sister from FL sent me an fruit basket as a gift for christmas I had to borrow my friends juicer. It was so thick (remember to remove the rind as that is absolutely horrible). Try putting an apple in for a little different flavor (when doing 10 oranges).
You are right though, orange juice contains antioxidants and they disappear after 3-4 days. if you can make it every other day, you should be good to go.
FYI, jack lalane juicers go for about $80-$120 online. They work excellent and are easy to clean (and quiet too).
jim10: Aw... thanks, man, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. I had a minor set-back today when I went to the grocery store and got angry about the expiration date on prepackaged salads... I decided to buy this green leafy stuff marked as "Romaine," but I think it was mislabeled. I was ashamed to realize that it was the first time in my life that I ever made a salad out of something other than a prepackaged mix. I've never even touched a head of lettuce in my life. Anyhow, though, I should have brought it back, too, I'm happy I'm not the only one who thinks it was awful! I wish you luck in your endeavor for cheaper orange juice... (well, at least cheaper than the farm stand market,) it's well worth the effort.
byron: Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it! Oh... man, I'll bet the rind is *awful,* yeah, thanks, man. I *love* the Christmas orange baskets from FL, that is bar none one of the best gifts in the world, especially if you live in the Midwest! This is kind of a stupid question, but how do you juice an apple? I guess I'll have to go look that up, but it sounds quite intriguing! There are so many different kitchen gadgets I want to buy, ranging for the pretty basic simple stuff, (splatter guard, anyone?,) to the elaborate... (rice cooker, dutch oven,) that I don't know about the juicer, I spent under two dollars for mine. It sucks, but I'm really building up those serious forearm muscles.
good choice, fresh juice, fresh vegetables are always better than packaged & preserved foods. Interestingly, there was a study on people who drank concentrated OJ and the results were positive. But I still prefer fresh squeezed, you can't beat the taste.
Another juice peeve I have is almost all these new 100% juice blends or 100% grape, acai, etc have as their 1st ingredient "apple" the 1st ingredient according to USA food manufacturers is always the ingredient w/ the highest ratio. So, you are getting more apple than grape (excl welches), more apple than acai on a 100% acai drink, mango drink, etc. just take a look at that crap. I have a bad reaction to drinks with apple so I want an alternate.
ocbill: Hey, thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I really appreciate it. About a couple of years ago, (or maybe more,) I was going down the juice aisle and I almost burst out crying after reading label after label of what was in this "juice" and that one, trying to find a healthy juice for my daughter. It's *all* such crap. There are little to no vitamins or minerals in half of this stuff, none of it looks healthy if you actually read the labels. Then there's the fortified juices, which I started buying for her... I've heard bad things about them, akin to what you've said, that the highest ratio of fruit juice in it is apple, (which unless it's fortified really does not seem to have much of anything all that great in it,) that the vitamins and minerals are so highly concentrated your body cannot absorb them the way it was meant to, etc, etc...
Then, my boyfriend told me when he was drinking them that he just couldn't stand the taste of the fortified juice drinks we were buying...
And when I looked into it more, it seemed like the highest ingredient in the juices was either apple or water... I'm sick of handing over big bucks to companies that just want to sell me "fruit flavored" water.
I would have slid quietly out of here without leaving a comment if you hadn't promised to not burn me at the stake. I have negative thoughts about burning people at the stake, especially when the burnee is me!
This is a very good Hub. I share your indignation concerning the skulduggery many of our food suppliers engage in. If they don't have the moral strength to respect the wellbeing of the people they're serving, they deserve all the government regulation that descends upon them.
There! I've joined you in the ranting!
Best wishes.
I think you made the right decision Nicole, on buying real stuff. I have been in the hunt for the perfect bjuice myself but had no luck. I'm seriously thinking to start my own smoothie squize for me and my daughter. Your hub reinforced my decision.
Niteriter: See, it works though, right?!? Thank-you so much to take the time out to read and comment, to become a fan, I really appreciate it. Your comments are always so thoughtful and well-spoken, I love hearing from you!
cameciob: I think smoothies are the way for you guys to go, there are very few juices out there that can match what we could make at home, thank-you so much for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it! Once you guys find some good smoothie recipes that are working for ya'all at home, please share them with us, I'll add a link to your hub from here. (That goes for anyone else, as well, I'll take a look over the next few days at what I can find.) Good luck, guys, I look forward to hearing from you more!
You are right. Had a coupon for it and decided to try it.
Really sorry I did. This stuff tastes horrible! Really disgusting. Could not finish it.
E. Browne: Isn't it awful?!? I mean... You have to wonder if they actually did taste tests for this stuff... it's just terrible! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, I really appreciate it! I hope you guys can make the switch at some point, (to a better orange juice, or,) to squeezing your own. I'm all for not giving these guys any more of my money than I have to!
Tropicana also reduced the amount you get per carton from 16oz to 14oz - price remained the same. I always get Florida Natural - its made from US grown oranges too !
Guest: Thank-you for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it. When our local grocery store runs out or tries to sell gross oranges I break down and buy some Florida Natural juice, like you said: It's grown in the US, which I appreciate. Also, I think the Florida Natural juice tasted better than Tropicana anyways. Add the fact that the price is less, (unless Trop's on sale,) and the company is smaller, I feel better about giving them my money as opposed to Tropicana.
very nice and useful idea...
Thank-you ringtones, if you give it a try another fun idea is to add a little lime or lemon juice, just to give it a bit of extra zing!
Useful Hub with lots of important info. I like Tropicana's taste but hate the Pepsi waste thingie. I'll think of carbon coated lungs next time I reach for Tropicana and invest in a juicer instead.
sligobay: *giggle* Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it. Carbon coated lungs... that's *awesome* thanks! If you get a hand juicer they're extremely cheap and build up those hand muscles!
Squeeze to please.
Good for you to take your OJ into your own hands. I saw this same juice in the store myself and after further reading it, I ran in the opposite direction.
eatlikenoone: Thank-you for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it! Yup, gotta read the label, learned my lesson for sure, with this!
jim10 2 years ago
I'm proud of you. I bought the same junk a few months back since I had a coupon. I then realized the 50 meant 50% water. I could have diluted it myself and saved the money. It tasted horrible. I complained to Tropicana and they gave me some coupons. I also returned it back to the store. I love fresh OJ but, never went through the trouble of doing it myself. A farm nearby has fresh juice and it is the best I ever had. But, it sure is expensive. I will have to try squeezing it myself.