Juice has been one of the most consumed beverages for a long time. It is a drink prepared from the liquid present in fruits or vegetables. You can prepare juice at home from your favorite fruits such as mangoes, oranges, apples, peaches and grapes. These fruits have different nutrients in their juices and have their unique taste.
Store-bought juices are more common nowadays due to easy excess and pleasant flavoring. Juices can be of two kinds, the one that is just liquid extracted from fruits or vegetables, while the other may contain fruit pulps to enhance the flavor.
How Long Can Juice Sit Out?
Juices’ shelf life depends on their quality; shelf-stable juices are much different than homemade ones. The long-life juices are the ones that are pasteurized and sealed, so they can sit at room temperature for up to six months or the best by date if unopened. However, opened shelf-stable juice is a different story. You can only let it sit for two hours.
Some fresh fruit juices should be kept chilled at all times and can only sit out for two hours. If you squeeze out the juice from any fruit at your home, it is best to keep the leftovers in the fridge because fresh juice cannot last longer than an hour or two at room temperature.
What Happens if Juice Sits Out Too Long?
Do you ever wonder why your juice tastes a little different than before? That’s because your juice is probably fermented. If you leave your glass of juice at the counter for a longer time than its suitable time limit, then you might end up with fermented juice.
Because of its acid content, orange juice does not go bad easily, but it will turn bitter the longer you let it sit out. Other juices, such as apple and mango may taste diluted.
What Should You Do If Juice Is Left Out Too Long?
There are times when you are in a hurry and forget to keep your favorite juice in the refrigerator, or you leave the juice at the counter overnight. In these cases, your juice is left out for too long to remain healthy to consume. Shelf-stable juices, once opened, are vulnerable to the surrounding temperature because their seal is no longer there to protect them from going bad.
Homemade juices and shelf-stable open packs of juices will change their taste the longer you leave them out. The change in taste is not pleasant, and it is better to discard such juices. It would help if you always were careful of spoiled beverages, as they can cause foodborne illnesses.
How Long Can Juice Be In The Car For?
When going through a long and tiring day of work, you might crave some fresh juice or coffee to brighten you up and lighten your mood. If you carry a shelf-stable juice pack in your car, it will sit for as long as the best by date in your car; make sure to keep it away from direct sunlight.
Once opened, though, you will have to consume it within two hours to be able to enjoy it when it’s still fresh and good. Freshly extracted juices need to be consumed immediately and refrain from letting them sit in the car for more than an hour.
Does Juice Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?
To elongate the shelf life of your favorite juice, you need to keep it refrigerated all the time. Leaving juice on the counter for a long time is not a good idea unless it’s shelf-stable and sealed. Therefore, if your juice is left to sit out for more than two hours, then it will go bad.
Does Juice Go Bad If You Lose Power?
The uncertain condition of power outages is problematic, especially when you do not know how long the power will be out. The items in your refrigerator might face a little inconvenience due to the slow temperature rise after every few minutes.
Open cartons of juice in the refrigerator will stay good for four hours after a power outage. Homemade juice is most likely to lose its flavor after two hours, so try to drink it when it’s still chilled to prevent it from going bad.
What Temperature Is Safe For Juice?
The shelf-stable juice is treated differently from other juices, such as freshly extracted homemade juices and the short-life juices from stores. Shelf-stable juice is suited to keep in the pantry or a cool place at 25 degrees Celsius. It would help keep other juices at 4 degrees Celsius to be safe and fresh.
Sources:
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