| Tart cherry juice concentrate is fast becoming | | | | individual bottles. Also, the companies selling |
| the natural choice for legions of arthritis and gout | | | | cold-packed cherry juice indicate cold-packed |
| pain suffers. So with all of the sources and | | | | cherry juice must be refrigerated. That is they |
| varieties of tart cherry juice available, what should | | | | the majority of tart cherry juice concentrate |
| consumers look for to make a wise buying | | | | products are only available in the refrigerated |
| decision? | | | | section of your local grocery stores. Cold-packing |
| What to look for when selecting a tart cherry | | | | is also the less expensive way to bottle cherry |
| juice product: | | | | juice concentrate since some companies simply fill |
| There are five critical areas consumers should | | | | their bottles over a utility sink. |
| look for when making a tart cherry juice | | | | Hot-packed - The cherry juice is pumped from a |
| concentrate purchase: type of cherry, quality, | | | | 52 gallon drum, flash pasteurized, and then packed |
| taste, packaging and a sediment-free guarantee. | | | | into individual bottles. Hot-packed cherry juice |
| Type of Cherry: The majority of research you | | | | concentrate is shelf-stable and doesn't need |
| read about the joint pain fighting ability of tart | | | | refrigeration during shipping, storage or until the |
| cherries and cherry juice has been conducted on | | | | product is open. After the product is open it does |
| the Montmorency tart cherry. While several other | | | | need to be refrigerated. Hot-packed cherry juice |
| varieties of cherries exist including black cherry, | | | | can be shipped without refrigeration and is shelf |
| Balaton and Rainer, the type of cherry that has | | | | stable. The hot-pack process is very similar to the |
| most amount of published research is the | | | | canning process where all of the oxygen is |
| Montmorency tart cherry. Although the | | | | removed from the bottle. |
| Montmorency tart cherry juice is slightly more | | | | Unfortunately, some companies lead the |
| expensive than black cherry juice, the research | | | | consumer to belief that cold-packed cherry juice |
| backs up the ability of the tart cherry to fight | | | | is never heated (pasteurized). This is simply not |
| joint pain due to arthritis and gout. | | | | true. Cherry juice concentrate is packed in 52 |
| Quality: Not all cherry juice concentrate products | | | | gallon drums and prior to the cherry juice being |
| are the same. One very important measurement | | | | packed in these drums the product is flash |
| of quality for tart cherry juice concentrate is this | | | | pasteurized. So if a company simply pumps the |
| brix level (pronounced bricks). This is a | | | | cherry juice from 52 gallon drums and fills |
| measurement of the amount of natural sugar in | | | | individual the cherry juice has been heated. If a |
| the product. The highest marker for tart cherry | | | | company indicates that their product is |
| juice is 68 brix. Be sure to know the brix level in | | | | cold-packed and has not been heated, they may |
| any cherry product you buy. This information is | | | | not be telling the whole truth. |
| usually printed on the label or published on the | | | | Stability: Product stability is vital not only for |
| website. If the brix level is lower than 68 brix, | | | | shipping purposes but also storage. The majority |
| you should reconsider the overall quality of the | | | | of companies selling cherry juice are selling |
| product. | | | | cold-packed in plastic bottles. This means the |
| Taste: Like all consumable products, taste is very | | | | product should be refrigerated during shipping and |
| important. Cherry juice is available in plastic | | | | storage. Yet many of these companies freely ship |
| bottles, aluminum cans and glass bottles. Based on | | | | cold-packed cherry juice across the country in |
| research funded by the cherry industry, | | | | unrefrigerated cardboard boxes with statements |
| participants in the study preferred the taste of | | | | saying the product must be refrigerated when |
| cherry juice packaged in glass bottles over plastic | | | | the product is received. This simply doesn't make |
| and aluminum bottles. Based upon results of the | | | | since. It would be similar to shipping a gallon of |
| study, people indicated the cherry juice packed in | | | | milk from New Jersey to Texas in a cardboard |
| glass bottles offered a fresher taste. One of the | | | | box and asking the customer to place it in the |
| reasons could be the fact that glass bottles | | | | refrigerator when it arrives. Hot-packed cherry |
| prevent leaching. Leaching is a result of products | | | | juice can be shipped without refrigeration and |
| being packed on plastic and the product itself | | | | stored without refrigeration. |
| actually absorbs plastic molecules from the plastic | | | | Sediment-Free Guarantee: Sedimentation is a |
| bottle. Leaching is not a concern for cherry juice | | | | concern for many cherry juice drinks. |
| packed on glass. | | | | Sedimentation occurs when the concentrate |
| Packaging: Two types of cherry juice packaging | | | | breaks apart and thick residue settles on the |
| for cherry juice products are available: | | | | bottle of the bottle. Sedimentation may be a |
| cold-packed and hot packed. Here is a basic | | | | result of poor quality concentrate or a poor |
| definition of each: | | | | bottling process. Look for cherry juice products |
| Cold-packed - The cherry juice concentrate is | | | | that offer a sediment free guarantee. |
| pumped from a 52 gallon drum and bottled into | | | | |