Orange Juice in a Jar

Contributed By: Live. Life. Simple.

This will make as many trays as you choose to make*

Orange juice can be freeze dried fresh-squeezed, 100% juice or from concentrate.  If you are doing orange juice from concentrate, add required water before freeze drying.  If doing concentrate or juice from a carton or container, try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other added sugars.  Scan the ingredients for ingredients known to have problems freeze drying.  For my video, I used Simply Orange.

Directions:

1. In a pre-cut parchment or silicone lined freeze dryer tray, pour juice into trays, leaving plenty of room for expanding during freeze drying.  I used 4 cups per tray in the medium
2. I have found dividers placed into the tray can help reduce the orange juice from puffing up during the freeze drying cycle.
3. If possible, pre freeze juice for 24 hours or more before freeze drying
4. Freeze dry as usual, periodically checking for excessive puffing to avoid a mess
5. When complete, run the freeze dried orange juice through a food processor to create a fine powder
6. Prepare for a sticky freeze dried product as goes for any high sugar item
7. Store Appropriately (See Tips and Tricks for storage help)

Cycle Time:

34 hours 54 minutes

Rehydration:

¾ cup (40-50 grams) of orange juice powder + 4 cup of water = 4 cup of orange juice.  Shake vigorously for 1 minute and enjoy!

* Extra Large Tray = 15 Cups/Tray Large Tray = 8 Cups/tray   Medium = 6 Cups/Tray   Small = 4 Cups/Tray 

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.