A New Fruit Juice Factory

Abstract

FOR the past four years, intensive research work has been carried out at the University of Bristol Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station at Long Ashton into the possibility of utilizing surplus fruits from the various varieties of soft fruit grown in Great Britain by means of their conversion into liquid fruit products. The research work, which has been under the direction of Mr. V. L. S. Charley, B.Sc, has resulted in the production of a series of attractive products. H. W. Carter and Co., Ltd., of The Old Refinery, Bristol, 2, and 52 Queen Victoria Street, London, have now equipped the first factory of its kind in the country at North Street, Bedminster, Bristol, 3, to prepare these fruit syrups from English fruits, and a representative gathering met on July 15 to view the factory. The retention of the fresh flavour of English soft fruits when processed into a liquid form has been shown at Long Ashton to be largely a question of the amount of sugar which is incorporated with the juice. Fruit syrups with 65 per cent of sugar have been shown to be stable and to retain to a remarkable degree the true flavour of the fresh fruit. Such syrups, however, are not of general utility on account of their excessive sweetness, but if the sugar content is reduced to any appreciable extent, grave risks of fermentation and mould growth are incurred. However, it has been shown that pasteurization at 160° F. for half an hour, a treatment which is essential to obtain stability, does seriously affect the attractiveness of the finished product.