Orange Juice (OJ) is the best known and most popular raw food drink. It's known for it's vitamin C content and great when you have a cold. But OJ is much more! Here you'll read about the history of orange juice and other fun facts.
Now, you'll really get to know your favorite juice!
Today many people drink OJ for breakfast. In Europe, many hotels and restaurants serve it freshly juiced. It's a symbol of a quality restaurant.
I find the history of orange juice fun. OJ was't always a breakfast drink like it is today. In the mid 1910s there was an overproduction of citrus fruits in California. The OJ growers didn't know what to do with the fruit and didn't see another option but to destroy 30% of its trees. At that time, people didn't have a fridge yet, so if they used the crop for juicing, the juice would only last for a day before it would start to rot.
However, at the same time, pasteurization was discovered and the national railway system was completed. Now, the growers of the citrus could juice their oranges, pasteurize them for longer storage and then ship the juice to the big cities. This is when the OJ was first mass produced and mass marketed.
The history of orange juice is also important for the American culture. The drink started to play an important roll in the Americanisation of breakfast. The orange juice replaced the more British breakfast of stewed fruit.
What do Santa and Oranges have in common? Santa Claus originates from his Dutch "brother" Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas is celebrated in the Netherlands at Dec 5. Like Santa, he brings the children presents AND oranges!
Oranges are a symbol of the Dutch Santa. Between 1568 and 1648 there was a war between Spain and the Netherlands (the Spanish War). The trade between these countries never stopped however. In that time, Spain was rich and had many luxuary articles and goodies. The Dutch exchanged gold and silver for spices and oranges. Sinterklaas was also the Saint protecting the sailers who in that time brought the oranges from Spain to the Netherlands.
When the Dutch came to the US they brought their Sinterklaas, who later was Americanized into Santa. So you see, in his old days, Santa loved oranges! With his history of orange.
Oranges are also a symbol and the last name of the Dutch Queen. The Dutch queen got her last name from the little city Orange in France. Once a princedom that was inherited by the Dutch Royal Family. The Dutch Royalties owned this princedom between 1530 - 1702. For many years, this city was the center of the orange trade. This explains also where the French and English word orange comes from.
There are few bands named after our juicy drink:
You can make OJ with a simple hand juicer, an electric citrus juicer, a fancy Solis centrifuge juicer, the Mercedes amongst the home juicers the Green Star Juicer or a professional Orange Juice Machine. The price ranges from 4$ to 1000$! For everybody there's a right juicer and making orange juice is as easy as a pie.
If you'd like to try something else for breakfast than your regular orange juice, youou can add whole orange juice to a blender i.e. with avocado, banana and a teaspoon of raw chocolate for a delicious breakfast smoothie!
Whether you're starting a raw food diet - or choose to eat cooked food for now, a fresh glass of OJ can be made and found almost anywhere. It's a raw drink full of enzymes and vitamins. A delicious, easy and healthy start of the day!
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