When thinking about which orange juice to buy, one does not
normally think about the hidden stash of orange juice from the frozen section
of the store. There were quite a few different brands in the hidden stash which led me to question which one is the better and why?
I decided to go with Bright & Early, Hill Country Fare,
and Minute Maid. I have never had frozen orange juice that you have to make by
adding water which was beneficial because I didn't have a bias on any of the
brands. Before tasting, I compared the products based off of ingredients,
calories, and the location of concentration or distribution.
Bright & Early:
100 calories
24 g of sugar per serving
Naturally and artificially flavored
Concentrated from Canada
Hill Country Fare:
120 calories
24 g of sugar per serving
No location stated of concentration
Distributed from HEB in San Antonio
Minute Maid:
110 calories
24 g of sugar per serving
Concentrated from the United States
No added sweeteners or preservatives
Each can made the same final amount (about 6 cups) and
called for three cans of water to be added to the content of the container.
During the making of the orange juice, there were extreme
differences in the color. The Bright & Early had a very dark orange color
that was extremely thick in consistency, even after the water was added. The
Hill Country Fare brand had a very dingy yellow color that had more of a medium
consistency that one would expect from an orange juice. The color of the minute
maid was very light and had a very runny, watery type of consistency.
 |
| Minute Maid |
 |
| Bright & Early |
 |
| Hill Country Fare |
Next, came time for the tasting of each brand and between
each tasting I ate a cracker to help clear my taste buds to keep the tastes of
each juice from blending together.
The Bright & Early brand did not look appealing. There
was a very overpowering amount of pulp that made it seem like there was a whole
shredded orange in a single glass. Since this brand had natural and artificial
flavoring, it did not have the flavor of juice and was way too sweet. In my
opinion this brand tasted like orange flavored sugar water that had pulp. This
brand was also the last in my ranking.
The Hill Country Fare Brand was next. The juice had a
descent flavor at first but then it afterwards it had a small bitter taste to
it. It had just enough orange flavors to where it wasn't overpowering. The
bitter taste was bearable and if it was not for the bitter taste it would have
been just like the regular bottled orange juice.
The Minute Maid brand was last and it was very
disappointing. Out of the three, it had the most orange flavor but it was
EXTREMELY bitter from the first taste to the after taste. There was no
sweetness to it at all and the taste overall was very overwhelming. There was
some pulp but it was the only thing that was perfectly balanced.
Overall, Even though Minute Maid cost the most at $1.94 it
was the least impressive and I wouldn't buy that brand again. The Brand that I
would go with if I wanted the frozen orange juice, would be the Hill Country
Fare. It wasn't the least expensive one ($1.44), only losing that title by 0.29 cents,but it was the best tasting and the
bitter after flavor can easily be overlooked.
It was good that you included the label information for each of the brands. Can you describe what you mean by "medium consistency?" Is it pulpier?
ReplyDeleteI like seeing all the label information as well. You said that you were comparing the juices by their ingredients, calories, and the location of concentration or distribution, but it seemed like you compared the test more than those things. So, what about the taste were you looking at in each one? Did they all have pulp?
ReplyDeleteThe only one that didn't have pulp was the Hill Country Fare brand. In the test, I was looking at the overall quality. I looked at what the initial taste was, was there an after taste,and did it taste like orange water or was it really thick? I didn't really have just one specific criteria. and to clarify, what I meant by the "medium consistency" was that it wasn't to watery, yet since it was the pulp free brand it wasn't extremely thick either. It was kinda right in the middle between watery and a thick consistency like the brand that had A LOT of pulp was.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you had posted the info for nutrition. Your before and after shots showed that you had put a lot of thought into the process. I would have liked to have seen each of the prices as well. Do you usually like pulp or pulp free?
ReplyDeleteI appreciated you including the calorie information and the price- I didn't think to do that in my own and it's really helpful information. The phrasing "location of concentration" is throwing me off for some reason. I feel like those would be two separate things I guess, like you would list where it's from and if it's from concentrate or not. I'm also a little unsure about the Bright and Early, when you say it didn't taste like juice because it didn't have artificial flavors. I would think that would make it taste MORE like fresh juice. I'm interested in hearing a little more about what you mean by not having a juice taste and why you chalk that up to the sweeteners.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, lots of useful information and the pictures are very helpful.
I'm curious how you chose to try frozen orange juice for your taste test. Is there a personal story you could tie to this to add a little more personal interest to your post? I think you did a good job of providing helpful info about each brand and did a good job of paying attention to details.
ReplyDeleteWhat made you choose frozen orange juice? What made the frozen orange juice so different from your experience with unfrozen orange juice?
ReplyDelete