311,712 ounces .. that’s how many ounces of cold-pressed juice made last year at the Nectary. And that’s just our bottle sales, it doesn’t include cleanses or special orders. Bottom line: we made and continue to make A LOT of juice! The mere mention of juice can stir up how many different styles exist, from the store-bought orange juice that sticks around your fridge for a couple weeks to the green juice that has a shelf life of three days. Today, we are pressing out the facts on cold-pressed juice, so we can provide you with an insider perspective on how and why we do what we do to keep the nectar flowing.
Before we get to the juicing process, let’s talk about sourcing and prepping. We are committed to producing 100% organic juice and strive to source locally, when possible. Organic fruits and vegetables are shipped to our production kitchen multiple times a week. Each morning, our juicers carefully weigh, clean and prep the produce prior to processing. We trim the stalks and peel the skin off certain vegetables/fruits, but for the most part, the produce remains intact so that the juices provide maximum nutrition.
At the most fundamental level, juice is an extracted liquid from fruits and/or vegetables. But in a world full of choices, not all juice is created equal. The Nectary has been cold-pressing juice since our doors opened, nearly 4 years ago. Cold-pressed juicing involves two steps: first, grinding the produce down to pulp into a filter bag, then with an immense amount of pressure, slowly pressing the bag to separate the liquid from solid. The filter bags vary based on the produce, whether it’s citrus, root vegetables or greens. As the filter bag is pressing, the juice flows out of the bag and down into a collecting bin. From there, the juice is strained and sent it over to bottling (reality: bottling happens on another prep table, about 25 feet away from the juicer!).
As previously mentioned, there are many ways to make juice. Much of the research for this post comes from Goodnature, where the Nectary’s juicer (aka Buffy the Vegetable Slayer) comes from. Their relevant and applicable research prompted us to simplify things and compare two popular styles of juicing: cold-pressed juice and juice made from a centrifuge. Centrifugal juicers are the most common type of juicers. This juicer uses a fast spinning metal blade to chop up fruits and vegetables. It then passes the juice through a mesh filter into a collecting bin. The flesh stays behind and is either collected in a straining basket or ejected out of the juicer into a separate compartment. There is no pressing mechanism on the centrifugal juicers. The major difference in processing between cold-pressed and centrifugal juicing is generation of (or lack thereof) heat. In cold-pressed juicers, hydraulic pressure generates the force to press the bags and no heat is created. In centrifugal juicers, the speed of the blade generates heat, which can ultimately affect the nutritional content of the juice.
Don’t quite believe us? Our friends at Goodnature debated whether or not differences existed between the two juices. So, they enlisted the help of a certified food lab. The results were significant and visually apparent. The picture below shows two juices, with the same ingredients but different processing techniques. Aside from looks, the shelf life was longer, and the yield was higher for the cold-pressed juice. In a separate study, the nutrient value of cold-pressed juice was 15% higher than juice made in a centrifuge. On day 3 of sampling the two juices, Vitamin A dropped off by about 12% in the cold-pressed juice, and 46% in the centrifugal sample. Researchers believed the centrifugal juice broke down faster due to the oxidation caused by the extraction, generation of heat and the retention of more pulp as compared to cold-pressed juice.
During bottling, we might add ginger or citrus, but that’s it. Our juices are not preserved in any way, which is why you will see a short “best buy” date. There are several factors that affect the shelf life of cold-pressed juices, including quality of produce, pH of ingredients, equipment, temperature control and of course, government regulations. If the necessary steps are taken to ensure quality of these factors, the shelf life of the juice will be 3-5 days. You can find cold-pressed juice that has a longer shelf life. The increase in stability comes from HPP, high pressure processing. During this process, high pressure kills bacteria (and some nutrients), which allows for a longer shelf life of about 30 days.
Our farm to bottle approach coupled with our food as medicine philosophy deemed cold-pressed juicing as the best option for us, and our customers. We wish we could make juice to order, but we haven’t quite figured out how to juice over 300,000 ounces a year right on the spot and still keep you happy!
Whether or not you are familiar with our cold-pressed juice offerings, we can assure you there’s a juice for every palate. The list below begins with our most green juices (no fruit sugar) and concludes with our root vegetable-based juices. Sometimes we don’t have enough juice to bottle and sell, so we hang onto that juice for sampling. If you get stuck between a rock and a hard place with your juice decision, ask your barista if any samples are available!
Electro Light: Cucumber, celery, sunflower sprouts, aloe, lime, sole
Hardcore: Kale, parsley, chard, spinach, celery, cucumber, ginger, optional: lemon
Green Dragon: Bok choy, dandelion greens, kale, cilantro, celery, cucumber, burdock, lemon
Kalalau Green: Apple, celery, kale, romaine spinach, parsley, lemon
Ciao Bella: Tuscan (dino) kale, Italian parsley, fennel, romaine, grapefruit, cucumber, celery, apple
G-Love’s Special Sauce: Pineapple, pear, romaine, spinach, chard, cilantro, lemongrass, mint, ginger, orange
Watermelon Blissness (Seasonal): Watermelon, mint, lime
Liquid Zen: Daikon radish, burdock root, cilantro, apple, lemon, ume plum
El Sol: Carrot, orange, golden beet, ginger
Equinox (Seasonal): Garnet yam, carrot, apple, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon
Ruby Skies: Beet, pear, grapefruit, ginger, chia seeds
In Good Health,
The Nectary
With gratitude, we get by with a little help from our friends ..
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2949782/
http://thechalkboardmag.com/new-science-health-benefits-of-juicing
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/juicer-types-cold-press_n_2618000.html
https://www.goodnature.com/juice-presses/x1-commercial-cold-press-juicer/
https://www.goodnature.com/blog/
Disclaimer: The information presented in this blog is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. The Nectary does not provide medical advice or treatment nor it is a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before consuming anything mentioned within these posts.