By Dan Titus

One of the main ingredients in a juice and smoothie bar is fruit juice. More than likely the fruit juice used is made from frozen or bag-in-the-box concentrates. The type of concentrate used dictates the kind of delivery system used. For frozen concentrates, the "Jet Spray Brand" fountain dispenser is very popular. For the bag-in-the-box concentrate, standard soft drink fountains are primarily used. It is important to note that the equipment for bag-in-the-box has improved over the past few years. For example, one of the problems with early dispensers was that the valve plunger would stick because a berry seed had wedged between the rim of the valve plunger and the side of the cylinder. This has been remedied by better filtration and changing the dimensions of the valve mechanisms to accommodate juice concentrate products and the seeds that they sometimes contain.

Juice concentrates that are used in juice and smoothie bars are manufactured using a variety of different equipment and processes. Seeing a nice container or package congers up the image of a clean stainless steel packaging line. Therefore, one would assume that the way concentrates are mixed and packaged is hi-tech. This is not necessarily the case.

I have seen a local juice mixing and packaging operation simply pore concentrated juice into a very large mixing about 5 feet tall, with a diameter of about 8 feet. The different juice concentrates are pored, and mixed with a large paddle, then, literally poured into polybags for a bag-in-the-box product. If you are shopping for a supplier, be sure to ask them what the process is, or better yet, ask to see the process at the factory.

Some juices contain just what the label says on the container, such as raspberry, boysenberry, or apple. However, others are made with a variety of ingredients in order to get a specific flavor with the final goal being a sweet and tart satisfying taste. For example, there is no such thing as cranberry juice. It doesn't exist until water and sweeteners are added to make it "juice".

Industry sources say that the juices of many fruits are too sour and acidic to taste good by themselves. In many instances, juice concentrates are used for adding sweetening and to balance the tartness of the fruit juice. Furthermore, these blends are created to bring out the flavors of other fruit juice tastes in the "blend".

Other ingredients and natural flavors are often added to the formula to achieve the ideal juice blend or juice concentrate.

Concentrates are used because, in general, fruits are needed when they are out of season. Brazil ships juice concentrates, and many tropical fruits, all over the world. It is the only economically feasible way to achieve economies of scale. Juice concentrates are what allow juice and smoothie bar owners to offer a product at a fair price and still maintain a profit.

White grape juice is used to, sweeten, intensify, and level out the flavor of many fruit juices and concentrates. White grape juice is often used in juice concentrate blends as a sweetener in order to retain a legal juice specification under FDA regulations. Although white grape juice is less expensive than some other juices, it is still much more expensive than corn syrup. Corn syrup is the sweetener of choice in mass-market juices and has little nutritional value. White grape juice provides a variety vitamins including A, C and E.

Some manufactures have been known to process white grape juice to remove the flavor and nutrients. The result is basically sugar water. These manufacturers may make the claim that their product is 100 percent juice. However, the product may no longer qualify as a fruit juice under FDA regulations. This processed juice allows these manufacturers to reduce costs by using poor quality, low-cost fruit juice concentrates as sweeteners.

Mass-market juice products in general contain refined sugars and preservatives and other chemically derived substances, yet still qualify as natural flavors according to FDA definitions.

Many juice concentrate suppliers will promote their products as natural. However, a closer look will reveal that the products are really sweetened with refined sugar, or have other legally approved "natural" ingredients. The basic premise is, "If it tastes good, it must be good for you."

"Natural flavors" depict ingredients that provide intensification to the main flavors in fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. Natural flavors can increase the impression of the fruit juice integrity and overall taste by enhancing what is already there. Just like spices bring out the tastes in other foods. However, the term "natural flavors" can mean something else entirely - Chemicals!

Therefore, use discretion when choosing your smoothie ingredients. For juice blends and juice concentrates, ask questions about how the products are manufactured and where the ingredients come from. What kind o type of sweetener is being used? Corn syrup? White Grape juice? Or, some other "natural" sweetener.