One of the characteristics of citrus juice is that it is to be consumed mainly as a cloudy drink. Every piece of fruit holds a different amount of juice. Factors such as variety, growing environment, and size impact how much juice a citrus fruit yield.
The fruit must be inspected and graded before it can be used. Graders remove bad fruit as it passes over the rollers and the remaining quality pieces are automatically segregated by size prior to extraction. Proper size is critical for the extraction process.
There are several methods to extract juice depending on the type of the fruit. There are two automated extraction methods commonly used by the citrus juice industry. As the extraction operation determines juice yield and quality, the correct setting of extractor operating conditions is very important.
The first places the fruit between two metal cups with sharpened metal tubes at their base. The upper cup descends and the fingers on each cup mesh to express the juice as the tubes cut holes in the top and bottom of the fruit. The fruit solids are compressed into the bottom tube between the two plugs of peel while the juice is forced put through perforations on the tube wall.
The second type of extraction has the oranges cut in half before the juice is removed. The fruits are sliced as they pass by a stationary knife and the halves are then picked up by rubber suction cups and moved against plastic serrated reamers. The rotating reamers express the juice as the orange halves travel around the conveyor line.
The extracted juice product does not contain the orange peel, but it may contain pulp and seeds, which are removed by finishers. Although juice is naturally cloudy, some consumers prefer a clear product. It may be necessary to use pectic enzymes to break down the pectin and to help clear the juice.
Although the biggest percentage of that juice is made of diluted first extraction juice that does not require enzyme treatment most of the time, there is an appreciable production of by-product that are made from pulp and the peels, and these are marketed either as second quality juice or as natural cloudifiers.
Pasteurization: The juice is heating to a temperature for sufficient time and to assure practical sterility as well as cloud stability by inactivating natural juice enzymes. Temperature of 77°C for 30 seconds is used.
The extracted juice is filtered through a stainless-steel screen before it is ready for the next stage. At this point, the juice can be chilled or concentrated if it is intended for a reconstituted beverage.
Packaging: Different types of packaging including cans, bottles, cartons, drums and barrels made up of glass, metals, plastic, or laminates are used for the packaging of Lemon juice.
Production of citrus juice
