1No one knows who came up with the idea of squeezing oranges to make juice.
2The popularity of orange juice increased dramatically in the middle of the 20th century
3as techniques were developed to extend its shelf life.
4Today, many people start their day with a tall glass of OJ.
5In its purest form, orange juice is fresh-squeezed and made with no preservatives or other additives.
6The appeal is indisputable.
7Fresh-squeezed OJ contains vitamin C, and the flavor is authentic.
8Orange juice production starts in groves.
9The trees take several months to bear fruit, and are harvested in early November.
10Picking oranges is a job that's done entirely by hand.
11An automated picking system could damage both the trees and the fruit.
12The picker uses a bag made of vinyl composite that's lightweight and heavy-duty.
13There are multiple types of juicing oranges.
14This one is called the Hamlin.
15Hamlin oranges are small and juicy,
16The trees they grow on are productive and resilient to cold.
17The picker plucks the fruit from the trees before they turn orange.
18They may be green on the outside, but they are still sweet on the inside.
19The fruits' size and condition are indications of maturity and flavor.
20As the picker empties the bag into a bin, he examines the oranges.
21Anything with tears or punctures may also have internal degradation,
22but superficial flaws won't affect the quality of the juice.
23The oranges are taken to a processing facility, and transferred to a sloped chute.
24The gradient of the chute prevents damage
25as the oranges tumble into a wash station.
26A sprayer sprays soapy water onto the oranges
27as spiraling nylon brushes scrub and clean while simultaneously moving them forward.
28After the wash, another sprayer rinses them off
29as the spiraling brushes continue scrubbing.
30The oranges transition to a roller conveyor that takes them up and under drying fans.
31As the oranges exit the dryer, an inspector checks them for any missed damage.
32The oranges travel across more revolving brushes.
33The bristles on these brushes are gentler than on the first group.
34They buff the skin of the fruit and remove any residual dirt.
35Finally, the oranges fall off the conveyor line into a bin.
36Now cleaned, the oranges can be juiced
37with no contaminants that could spoil either the product or juicing machinery.
38As a final precaution, the juicing operator performs one last inspection.
39If she's completely satisfied with their cleanliness and general condition,
40she loads the oranges into the extractor.
41There's no need to slice them beforehand.
42She feeds them to the juicing machine whole.
43The system feeds the oranges one at a time to the extractor.
44The extractor punctures the fruit, and metal teeth peel away the skin.
45It squeezes out the juice while simultaneously filtering out the seeds,
46and the membrane between the flesh of the orange and the skin.
47The juice flows into a vat.
48A screen in the vat filters the pulp to the desired consistency -
49there are several different filters for different amounts of pulp.
50The juice is bottled in jugs.
51The plastic jugs will accommodate any expansion of the unpasteurized juice due to fermentation.
52Instead of pasteurizing this fresh-squeezed juice, it is chilled immediately.
53The unpasteurized orange juice won't have an extended shelf life,
54but the trade-off is an unaltered flavor and color.
55Refrigeration will preserve the juice for a few days,
56and after all, fresh-squeezed orange juice is a drink that's best served cold.