The fruit content in the juice
How much fruit there must be in a fruit juice and which designation a beverage with fruit content bears and when is defined in the Fruit Juice Ordinance and in the Guidelines for Soft Drinks. Accordingly, the difference between fruit juice, fruit nectar and fruit juice drink lies in the amount of fruit content and whether additional sugar may be added.
Fruit juices have the highest fruit content. To be allowed to call a drink fruit juice, the fruit content must be 100 %. Furthermore, no additional sugar may be added to a fruit juice. Of course, this does not mean that fruit juices are sugar-free, because the natural fruit sugar is contained in the juice. Depending on the fruit, the level of sugar content therefore also varies.
With fruit juices, a distinction is made between pure juice and juice from concentrate. Fruit juice in which the pressed juice is used purely is called pure juice. In the Rabenhorst range you will only find pure juices, as only these meet our high quality standards. A special sub-form of pure juice is the so-called pure juice or pure juice from first pressing. This is a juice from particularly acidic fruits that is processed gently and contains a high proportion of lees. You can read more about this in the article "What is pure juice from first pressing?“
The second way of producing a fruit juice is with the help of a concentrate. Here, the fresh juice is first concentrated by removing water and aromas and later diluted back to the original juice strength with suitable water and aroma. In this way, the fruit content of fruit juice from concentrate is also 100 %. However, we do not use this method with our Rabenhorst juices.
More or less fruit content depending on variety: fruit nectar
A difference between juice and nectar lies in particular in the fruit content. In addition, sugar may be added to a fruit nectar. Fruit nectar is therefore defined as a drink made from fruit juice or pulp, water and sugar. Sometimes the sugar is replaced by honey.
The fruit content does not have to be 100 %, as is the case with fruit juice, but is between 25 and 50 %, depending on the type of fruit. As high quality of our products is very important to us at Rabenhorst, the fruit content in our nectars exceeds the legally prescribed percentage for the respective fruit. For example, our Blueberry nectar contains at least 70 % fruit content, although the law only requires a minimum of 40 %.
With only little fruit content: fruit juice drinks
A fruit juice drink has a low fruit content. The definition of fruit juice drinks states that the fruit content must be at least 6 to at least 30 % fruit content. The level depends on the type of fruit: for citrus fruits it is at least 6 %, while for pome fruits and grapes the fruit content is at least 30 %. In addition, sugar, flavourings and additives may be added to fruit juice drinks. At Rabenhorst we do not carry any fruit juice drinks in our range.
FAQ
What does fruit nectar contain?
In addition to fruit juice, fruit nectar also contains water and sugar or honey. How high the minimum content of fruit juice in the nectar must be varies depending on the fruit.
What is a fruit juice drink?
Depending on the fruit contained, a fruit juice drink has a fruit content of 6 to 30 %, i.e. a much lower fruit content than fruit nectar. For citrus fruits, the fruit content must be at least 6 %, while for fruit juice drinks made from pome fruits or grapes, the fruit content must be at least 30 %. For all other fruits, a fruit content of at least 10 % is prescribed. In addition to water, a fruit juice drink can contain other ingredients such as types of sugar, flavourings and carbon dioxide.
Which juice has 100% fruit content?
Basically, every fruit juice has 100 % fruit content. However, there are two different types of fruit juice: a pure juice consists of the pressed juice of fruits that is partially filtered but not further diluted. The second variant is fruit juice from concentrate. In the processing stage, water and flavour are extracted from the fresh fruit juice and added back in a later processing stage, resulting in a fruit juice with 100 % fruit content.