Detailed Explanation of Apricot Juice Processing Methods and Production Steps

Process flow

Material selection → washing → crushing → pre-cooking → pressing → coarse filtration → clarification → fine filtration → homogenization → deoxygenation → adjusting sugar-acidity → canning → sterilization → finished product.

Processing key points

Material selection and washing: For making apricot juice, the apricots should have good flavor, slightly higher acidity, be easy to juice, yield plenty of juice, be freestone, have orange-yellow flesh, be fully ripe, free of insects and free of damage. Before processing, wash the apricots with clean water, cut them in half, and remove the pits.

Crushing and pre-cooking: It is best to cut the apricot flesh into small pieces of 3mm-4mm, but do not cut them too finely. Pre-cook equal amounts of crushed fruit flesh and water in a stainless steel pot for 15min-30min, with the temperature controlled at 60°C-70°C, so that the fruit flesh is fully softened; at the same time, add a little vitamin C, citric acid, or a small amount of salt to help preserve color.

Pressing and coarse filtration: The apricot flesh after crushing and other treatments should be pressed immediately with a press. After the first pressing, add a small amount of water to the pomace, soak for several hours, and then press again; the expressed apricot juice should be filtered through a filter screen or filter bag to remove suspended matter and impurities.

Clarification and fine filtration: Coarse filtration only removes large impurities and suspended matter; clarification and fine filtration mainly remove colloids in the apricot juice, making the apricot juice clear and transparent.

Homogenization and deoxygenation: Cloudy apricot juice must be homogenized to make the particles in the juice finer and more uniform; the apricot juice passes through homogenization apertures of 0.002mm-0.003mm under high pressure. Deoxygenation is the removal of oxygen from the apricot juice; an antioxidant method can be used, that is, adding a small amount of vitamin C and other antioxidants when canning the apricot juice.

Adjusting sugar-acidity: The sugar content and acid content of apricot juice must have an appropriate ratio for good flavor; generally the sugar-acid ratio is 13-15:1, and the sugar content is about 17%. The adjustment method is to use filtered concentrated sugar liquid to adjust the sugar content, and use citric acid with a mass fraction of 0.1% to adjust its acidity.

Canning and sterilization: Heat the apricot juice to 80°C-90°C, fill the cans while hot, and seal immediately. Use boiling water high-temperature sterilization; after placing in the pot, the water temperature rises to 100°C in 3min-5min, and maintain for about 10min. After sterilization, place the tin cans in cold water to cool rapidly; for beverages in glass bottles, a staged cooling method can be used to lower the temperature, wipe off water droplets, apply anti-rust oil, and the product is finished.

Finished product quality

The processed apricot juice is dark yellow or orange-yellow in color, contains 15%-20% soluble solids and 0.5%-1% acid, and has a rich apricot flavor.