Nobody wants to take a big drink of what you thought was nice fresh juice only to get a mouthful of old vegetables far beyond their best.
There’s even a chance if you’re reading this that you’re standing there deciding whether or not your juice is OK to drink. Well please read this article before you take a swig so you can at least know what to look out for to tell if it’s spoiled.
I’m also going to talk about how to store your juice so it lasts as long as possible, the possible health problems of spoiled juice and look at how fast juice loses its nutrients.
But before all that let’s take a look at the main event.
How Long Does Fresh Juice Last
Typically, fresh juice will last about a day before it spoils, roughly 24 hours, but this is if it’s made with a centrifugal juicer. If you make your juice with a masticating juicer it will last a bit longer and last 2-3 days, up to around 72 hours.
So let’s take a look at why that is shall we?
Masticating vs Centrifugal Juicers
I’ve actually talked a lot about all the differences between masticating and centrifugal juicers for those curious but for now let’s stick with specifically how long their juice lasts.
The reason that juice from a masticating juicer lasts 2 or 3 times longer is from how it’s made. Masticating juicers also get called slow and cold juicers because the RPM of the auger (the bit that crushes the fruit and veg) is low, this stops the juice from heating up and stops it from getting oxidized.
Because it’s the process of heating and oxidation that causes the juice to start the process of going bad, it doesn’t happen straight away but it causes the process to happen faster.
In a centrifugal juicer the juicing blade is spinning so fast it can suck a lot of air into the machine, and you know how when you leave half an apple out it starts to turn brown? That’s from oxidation.
So ultimately if you want long-lasting juice you’re going to want to buy a masticating juicer, check out my reviews of the best ones here.
How Fast Does Juice Lose Its Nutrients
Lasting until it spoils and when it starts to lose its nutrients are definitely two different things. Because of the aforementioned oxidation, your juice will start to lose nutrition after about 30 minutes, so you want to drink it as soon as possible. This is a slow process of losing nutrients but for maximum nutrition, you want to drink it as soon as possible.
But, just like the apple that goes brown, if you put that half an apple in a sealed container and inside the fridge it would turn brown a lot slower, which is why you want to keep it chilled and contained.
How Long Does Fresh juice Last In A Mason Jar?
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I know a mason jar is quite a common way of storing fresh juice so I’m sure you’re wondering if that will help make it last longer. Well the good news is it will, the bad news is I’ve already taken that into consideration, juice stored in a mason jar will last 1 day from a centrifugal juicer or 2-3 days from a masticating juicer if it’s also kept in the fridge.
How To Tell If Your Juice Has Gone Bad
Generally if it’s gone bad you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly, First off you’ll be able to smell it, if it smells different to when you first made it and you’re not sure if it’s good, it’s probably not good.
Likewise, if it’s a different colour to when you first made it, back away slowly. It will separate and then change color slightly but that’s normal, what you want to look out for is any brown colors, particularly on top of the juice, so have a look at the top before you shake it.
Do Different Types of Juice Go Bad Differently?
Green juice compared to something more fruity? What about orange juice compared to carrot juice?
I’ve talked about orange juice in a separate article because it’s so common but in general all juices spoil at about the same rate, the only difference you’ll see is if it’s store-bought juice. Store bought juice has extra preservatives added to it to make it last longer in the bottle, preservatives which you can’t get for your at home juice, so it can last for months unopened (but please check the bottle for specifics!).
How Bad Is Spoiled Juice For You
Are we talking hospitalisation or a day spent in the bathroom? Well I’m no doctor, but It would have to be some seriously old juice to put you anywhere near a hospital. If you do have some that’s past it’s best though you can expect the common food poisoning symptoms, upset stomach, stomach cramps, all that good stuff.
So nothing life-threatening but certainly nothing I would want to have to deal with.
How To Make Fresh Juice Last Longer
So we know how long it lasts, we know it’s bad for us, but we don’t yet know how to keep it fresh for longer… Until now!
Proper Storage
First and foremost you want to get your juice stored properly, so it’s in the fridge, it’s in a proper bottle that’s clean and see through so you can see your juice on the inside.
Vacuum Seal
What is a cool new technology that I think is going to keep getting bigger vacuum sealing your juice after you’ve made it. Ninja has a new blender that vacuum seals the juice into a bottle after you’ve made it to keep it fresher for longer. It’s pretty new but it’s a really good idea that I can see becoming a lot more popular.
Fresh Fruits And Vegetables
Finally, you want to make sure that produce you’re using is fresh, as fresh as it can possibly be. So fresh it’s not even grown yet! Ok… not quite that fresh… But if you’re using fruits or vegetables that are close to expiring then they’re not going to last very well once they’ve been made into juice either.
Conclusion
So that’s it, hopefully you now know more about how long fresh juice lasts than you ever thought you’d need to. So once again, you’re 1 day for a centrifugal juicer and 2-3 days for juice from a masticating juicer.
Happy juicing!
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