What are the main problems in the production of apple juice concentrate – from a practical point of view?
Apple juice concentrate is prepared from clean, sound apples that have been washed and sorted prior to processing. Prior to juice extraction, apples are mashed and then depectinised to control viscosity. The juice undergoes filtration, assuring a product of brilliant clarity. The filtered depectinised juice is concentrated through low temperature vacuum concentration processes to provide the highest quality product available. The resulting 70° brix concentrate is immediately chilled and packaged as specified. The apple juice concentrate is processed according to good manufacturing practices. One of the problems encountered relates to optimisation of the mashing process. Mashing of apples is normally performed in two types of equipment: a grater or a hammer mill. One of the critical aspects of this step is to obtain a proper consistency for economical juice extraction; if the pulp contains large pieces, the yield of juice will be low, but the juice will be relatively free from suspended
