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Thursday 5 May 2011

" Bitter" Orange juice

    Thought of bringing fresh fruit juice to work for a change. So, i woke up 1/2 hour earlier  to cut the oranges, blend it and put it into my container.

     When i happily take it out at around lunch time, thinking that i can enjoyed my fresh juice instead of those added sugar juice... i was at a big disappointment . My juice was just so bitter that i can barely swallow it. >.< waste of my time of getting up so early. I should have use the 1/2 hour to take a longer nap.
     
    Was curious why my orange juice has become bitter. Is it because of oxidation?? So i tried to google it and this is what i found :

     Orange juice is bitter after a few hours because limonin was formed. Usually limonin is not present in the orange, but forms in a few hours after the juice has been squeezed. The process can be accelerated by heat ( oh! Malaysia's weather!)

     Limonin was discovered in 1841 in some orange seeds by S. Bernay. Then, Ralph Higby isoalted limonin from the orange juice in 1938. However, as there is no limonin found in a fresh orange, the mystery was only solved in 1969 when Vincent Maier identified LARL( a tasteless substance) as the precursor that give rise to limonin. 


Conversion of LARL to limonin

 Conclusion 
Drink your fresh orange juice immediately after you prepare it unless you like a bitter taste!!