How to Store Fresh Juice

What Containers Should You Use and How Long Can You Keep It

Anyone who juices knows that sometimes you just don’t have the energy to make a fresh juice. It can be tiring to wash the fruits and vegetables, cut them up, and juice them, then clean the machine. You might be tired from a long day at work, and say to yourself: I just don’t have the energy. I’ll juice tomorrow.

 

While drinking juice immediately is always best, you know that you can’t always make time to juice. Therefore you should consider storing it in your refrigerator. It is certainly better than not juicing at all, or buying store brought juice.

 

When I make a juice I make enough for about two drinks. One I drink immediately, the other I store in the refrigerator. I use a glass mason jar. If you don’t have mason jars, then I suggest using something like a Pyrex container or a special BPA free jar.

 Cautions against BPA

The one thing I recommend you never use is any sort of plastic unless you are sure it is BPA free. BPA stands for Bisphenol A. There is tons of evidence that this stuff is toxic. So avoid it at all costs. It won’t do immediate damage, which is why it is still out there. But most scientists say it causes long-term problems that include all sorts of cancers.

 

If you don’t want to buy a special BPA bottle, and you can’t find mason jars, then you can use a Pyrex container. I found that the juice doesn’t really absorb smells or anything from the fridge, so you could leave it open. I have used a Pyrex measuring cup when I didn’t have mason jars, and it worked fine.

 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bpa/AN01955

http://www.lhwmp.org/home/chemtoxpesticides/bisphenola.aspx

 

What I don’t think you should do is make several servings. This is because the benefits of juicing come from the freshness of the juice. The longer you store the juice the less powerful its nutrients are. I think that the max amount you should make is the amount you will drink in 24-36 hours.

 

With that said, if you really have no time, then you can make some a few days in advance. If you make juice on a Sunday for Monday and Tuesday, then you probably will be fine. I don’t think you should keep fresh juice much longer than that. You defiantly don’t want to keep it for several days. The longer you keep it the higher the change that bacteria will grow. Remember, you are not using any sort of preventives. This is good, but it also means that the juice can’t sit around for a week.

 

I found that when I started using a cold press juicer the process was much less difficult. The centrifugal juicer (the one that uses tiny blades) was loud and it took time to clean. The great thing about the auger juicer (cold press) is that you can clean it in less than a minute. I ended up making juice much more frequently.

 

You can use mason jars, but the lids tend to rust. They do sell BPA free lids at Amazon that you can get though. That’s what I would recommend.

 

The other option is to get glass drinking bottles. These are awesome because they have not petrochemicals. They are also easy to clean and don’t hold a flavor like even the safest plastics will. You can get a narrow cleaning brush to clean out the insides.

Here is a great brand. You can get them on Amazon.