Red and White Grape Juice Concentrate Component Ranges

A current topic throughout the American juice industry is what should be considered "natural" and what should be considered "modified" fruit juice. Grape juice concentrate is recognized as a dynamic rather than static commodity. A number of grape components, such as pigments, proteins, and certain salts are extracted from the grape skins, seeds, and pulp during crushing and pressing operations. These components have certain limits of solubility in fresh juice and generally less solubility in concentrated juice with solids reaching 68° Brix (percentage by weight). The data generated in this study are being presented to provide information on the character of "natural" grape juice and concentrate. The reported results were derived from three production years of California minimally processed (e.g., some pectinase/sulfur dioxide additions and solids separation) grape juice and concentrate samples. The wide ranges are due in part to varietal and cultural differences, as well as dynamic age of product.