A study by the Food Color and Quality group of the University of Seville reveals that the color of orange juice influences the perception of flavor by consumers. Specifically, tasters perceive juices with greenish tones as more acidic . In addition, consumers change their assessment if this is done before tasting the juice (just observing it) and after tasting it, as explained by Isabel Vicario.
This phenomenon occurs despite the fact that one of the factors that influence the color of the juice, the amount of pulp, does not usually affect the aroma , as determined by the scientists’ analyzes. “Up to 10% of the pulp increases the release of limonene (one of the most important compounds for the aroma of the juice) in in vivo analysis, but larger amounts have an imperceptible impact”, adds Vicario.
On the other hand, experts have studied the impact on healthy compounds of processes to which oranges are subjected to obtain juice, such as the suppression of bitterness, to improve the taste of the final product. In this sense, researchers have found that eliminating bitterness does not reduce carotenoids, but other types of beneficial compounds such as phenols do . The findings were recently published in the Journal of Food Engineering.
Regarding the differences in the processing of the raw material, experts have compared industrial and natural orange juice. And they have found that the bioavailability of carotenoids such as beta-cryptoxanthin is up to 22% higher when juices are industrially squeezed than when they are squeezed manually.
