If you want a glass of orange juice, you’re going to need oranges. You may be wondering exactly how much juice will be extracted from a single orange, though. After all, your shopping list will be reliant on picking up an appropriate amount of ingredients.
Let’s start with the basics. A single orange, with the usual caveats that some fruits will be bigger or smaller than others, offers a yield of around 75ml. That’s five tablespoons. 75ml also works out at around 2.5 oz.
To save you doing the math, that means you’ll need:
- 3 or 4 oranges for a single, 8oz glass of orange juice.
- 6 or 7 oranges for two glasses of orange juice.
- Around 13 oranges to offer freshly squeezed OJ to a family of four.
Knowing how many oranges you’ll need to make juice is only half the battle, though. To get the best possible OJ experience, you’ll need to choose the ideal oranges to use as ingredients.
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What Juicers are Best for Oranges?
If you are making orange juice, you’ll have three options open to you. Each juicer type has unique strengths and weaknesses.
- Manual Juicers are quick and easy to use. You just crush the orange in the appliance, catching the juice. Washing up takes seconds. You’ll need strong hands though, and can only juice one orange at a time.
- Centrifugal Juicers will very quickly and efficiently juice oranges electronically. These are great if you want quick juice from multiple oranges. The blades run hot though, so a little nutrition may be lost.
- Masticated Juicers will juice your oranges slowly, ensuring maximum yield. You can also store juice made in a slow juicer in the fridge for up to three days. It takes longer to clean these juicers, but their performance is amazing.
Make a decision based on your personal circumstances.
What Types of Orange are Best for Juicing?
Next, you need to pick up the best possible oranges for juicing. Don’t just be guided by size. While larger oranges will offer superior value for money, the type of fruit you use is also critical.
- Valencia Oranges are the most popular oranges used for juicing. These fruits are typically available all year round. Valencia oranges are sweet and lack bitterness, making them tasty in juice.
- Tangerines may arguably the tastiest juice of all. Unfortunately, these oranges also have a short season. Typically, this is from the end of the fall until the onset of spring. Enjoy tangerines in your OJ while you can.
- Satsumas and Clementines are popular with many juicing aficionados, mainly due to their refreshing flavor. These oranges are smaller than most though, so you’ll need more to make a glass of juice, and they are comparatively expensive.
- Blood Oranges are named after their striking, ruby-red flesh. There is no denying that blood oranges are tasty, but they are slightly more bitter and expensive.
- Navel Oranges are very popular and cheap to purchase. These oranges can sour quickly once juiced, though. Do not store OJ made from navel oranges in the refrigerator – drink it immediately.
Whatever oranges you use for your juice, warm, your orange up first. Do this by simply rolling it around in your hands. Warming the orange up will ensure you extract maximum juice from it. This will be reflected in the taste.
