How to Ferment Orange Juice (+ Video)

How to ferment orange juice into orangina, a bubbly, probiotic beverage that is both delicious and healthy for the gut. A great alternative to orange soda!

The most commonly grown fruit tree in the world is the orange. This familiar fruit is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly the pomelo and mandarin.

The many varieties of orange are widely grown in warm climes. Brazil and the United States are the primary producing countries. Within the United States, California and Florida predominate.

The elementary school I attended in West Central Florida happened to be located only a few miles from a Hood’s orange juice factory. This facility is now owned by Coca-Cola.

Many days, my classmates and I could smell the distinctive aroma of burning citrus peels from the belching smokestack.

While this unusual smell didn’t bother me too much, many of my classmates found it nauseating.

Some even stayed indoors for recess on days when the wind was blowing in the school’s direction.

Commercial Orange Juice Processing

While burning citrus peel waste may not seem too problematic, the process of extracting the juice from the oranges in a factory setting definitely is.

Conventional oranges are sprayed heavily with a class of pesticides called cholinesterase inhibitors.

This class of chemicals is known to be highly toxic to the nervous system. A single orange juice factory is able to squeeze up to 1,800 tons of oranges each day. This is accomplished by placing the entire orange into the pressing machines – pesticides and all!

As if that isn’t enough, juice manufacturers use acid sprays during processing. These chemicals extract every drop of juice from each orange. This includes orange oil from the skin.

Every glass of “healthy” supermarket OJ contains traces of these toxic residues. Shockingly, these toxins are not listed on the label. (1)

While orange juice can and should be a wonderfully healthy beverage, processed orange juice from the supermarket is clearly to be avoided!

How to best make orange juice a healthy choice? Surely, freshly squeezed from unsprayed oranges is the best choice. If you’re game, you can take it one step further adding probiotics to the mix.

Cultured OJ

It is easy to ferment orange juice into the delicious, bubbly beverage commonly referred to as “orangina”.

The culturing process adds a healthy dose of probiotics along with enhanced nutrition and enzymes.

A dozen medium-sized oranges are all you need to get started with homemade orangina. Unsprayed or organically grown is best.

If you can’t easily obtain a bag of oranges, many health food stores sell unpasteurized orange juice in the refrigerated section.

While purchasing fresh juice is a good alternative, squeezing your own is the most economical way to make this popular fermented beverage.

Note that the recipe below contains a secondary fermentation that is optional, but worth the effort! All you have to do is bottle the initial orangina ferment (I use 8 ounce flip-top glass bottles). The result is highly carbonated beverage that is a healthy alternative to orange soda from the store.

This linked recipe contains more details on how to bottle homemade fermented beverages.

If you don’t have time to ferment OJ, then at least add cream to fresh-squeezed OJ to lower the blood sugar spike!

Recipe adapted from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

References

(1) Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry

(2) Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

More Fermented Drink Recipes to Enjoy!

Switchel: Nature’s Healthy Gatorade
How to Make Traditional Root Beer
How to Make Fermented Lemonade (Hindu Lemonade)
How to Make Ginger Ale