In keeping with the theme of green juices, I wanted to follow up my article on how long Omega juicers last with a more detailed article on how long juice will last. Specifically, how long green juice will last in the fridge.
While there is not really a scientific consensus on this, there is a general guideline that you can feel comfortable following.
We’ll discuss it below as well as discuss some of the more specific questions that you might have regarding how you can store green juice and what’s the best method to use.
Is Green Juice any different than Regular Juice?
So for the point of this article, I am focusing solely on green juice. That’s really any juice that uses green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, or wheatgrass as a base. You might also toss in celery juices into the mix.
If you’re making a fruit juice, such as a apple and carrot juice, then you might get away with keeping it a bit longer. That’s simply because there is more fructose in the juice when you’re juicing more fruit.
But as a rule I would suggest that you can keep a green juice slightly longer in the fridge than another type of juice
In general, though, remember that if you are making fresh juice then you have something that doesn’t have a long shelf life. You are not going to have it last as long as store brought OJ or something of that king.
Of course, there’s also a great advantage to using a juicer to make your own juice. You get so much more out of it that is beneficial such as healthy enzymes and a ton of micronutrients that don’t exist in store brought pasteurized and processed juices.
Can You Store Fresh Green Juice
Yes, you most certainly can store fresh green juice. Many people do not feel like they have the time to make fresh juice daily.
For these people, the solution is to make enough juice so that they can have it for two days.
While I don’t think that is an ideal situation, it’s certainly better than buying a processed juice from the supermarket.
A fresh green juice, if stored correctly, will last.
Now, you don’t want to store that juice for longer than necessary. And I would go so far as to say that anything over two days (48 hours) is too long.
Here’s my cheat sheet:
Two Days Max
Do Not Drink out of the Storage Container
If you follow those rules, then you’re playing it pretty safe. The most important thing to remember is that you never want to store your green juice in a container that you’ve drunk out of. It will create an unhealthy amount of bacteria.
Make sure to use clean glass storage bottles for your juice and only use them if they are clean. When it comes time to drink your juice, only drink from the bottle if you plan on drinking the entire amount. I wrote an article that covers some of my favorite ways to store fresh juice.
You do not want to put back a juice bottle with juice in it. That’s unhealthy. I’ll link to a study below that covers some of the topics.
If you want to keep your green juice in the fridge overnight, then these glass bottles are a good thing to have on hand.
Does Green Juice Keep Overnight
Sure. Green juice will keep overnight as long as you store it properly. If you are someone who doesn’t have the proper glassware, then I would suggest that you go ahead and buy something like mason jars with reusable plastic lids, or else get strong glass bottles that can store juice.
Ideally, you would want to drink your green juice as soon as you make it. It’s simply better that way. You’re not going to have any loss of nutrients.
The longer you keep your green juice, the more nutrients disappear. Now, it’s not a disaster to keep it in the fridge overnight.
There are still plenty of benefits to drinking a juice that you made the day before as long as it’s been properly chilled and stored properly.
Unlike store brought juices that have been pasteurized, green juices that you make at home yourself are going to be rich in antioxidants, minerals, and more importantly health enzymes that help your stomach and regulatory.
It’s simply better to drink it right away. But, if stored properly, it will last until the next day.
I would not suggest stretching it much beyond that though.
Will A Green Juice Lose It’s Flavor In the Fridge?
No, not really. While some people would say that it loses it’s flavor, it really isn’t noticeable.
And if you are adding things like ginger, lemons, or green apples, then it’s going to have a pretty strong flavor profile that will last a long time.
Your only concern is that after a few days, the juice will begin to taste a bit skunky. That’s more to do with the fact that fresh juice doesn’t contain any preservatives.
If you make a juice without preservatives, you are not going to have the ability to store it for several days. You really will need to drink that juice within a few days.
The flavor won’t really be significantly different. In fact, the flavor is not going to be much different after a while. The more pressing problem is that the juicer will not be as healthy.
Studies:
Here’s some of the links that I mentioend. Mainly these will be in support of the scientific articles I mentioned.
Vegetable Flavor when making Juice