Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Orange Juice

Fresh orange juice is a low-acid citrus juice, about 1% acid against roughly 6% for lemon or lime, so it brings sweetness, body and length rather than sourness. It fills the Screwdriver, the Mimosa and the Buck's Fizz, and softens rum punches where lime or lemon does the balancing. Squeeze it the same day; a pasteurised carton tastes cooked.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

OriginChina (historically)

Flavour Strengthlight medium

SeasonYear-round (Best flavour in winter)

Our keeping timeJuiced: the same day. Whole: one to two weeks refrigerated.

Storage

Store whole oranges refrigerated. Once juiced, keep it covered and refrigerated and use it the same day.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Fresh Orange Juice

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CitrusSweetFresh

Tasting Notes

Bright and juicy with natural sweetness and soft acidity. Less sharp than lemon or lime, with a rounder mouthfeel.

Orange lengthens a drink and leaves the balancing to lemon or lime

Orange juice carries about 1% acid. Lemon and lime carry about 6%, which is why 25ml of either can hold a sour in balance and 25ml of orange cannot. Rebuild a sour on orange and it comes out soft and sweet.

What orange does instead is lengthen a drink and give it body and fruit. In the Rum Runner, the Bahama Mama and the Scorpion it sits beside lime or lemon, which do the balancing, and fills in the round, sweet middle.

In a Screwdriver or a Mimosa it is most of the glass

A Screwdriver is 120ml of orange to 50ml of vodka. A Mimosa is half juice, 75ml to 75ml of prosecco. Nothing in either drink covers a tired or cooked juice, so these are the drinks where squeezing your own makes the largest difference.

The Garibaldi goes further: 45ml of Campari under 120ml of orange juice aerated until it foams, which fresh juice does and a carton will not.

A chilled carton will do for a punch, not a Mimosa

Orange juice by how it is made

How it is made

Squeezed yourself: Pressed from the fruit and used as it is
Not from concentrate (chilled): Pressed, usually pasteurised, and sold chilled
From concentrate: Juice concentrated, then made back up with water

Taste

Squeezed yourself: Bright, with the smell of the fruit
Not from concentrate (chilled): Rounder, slightly cooked
From concentrate: Flatter and more cooked

Keeps

Squeezed yourself: The same day, by our rule
Not from concentrate (chilled): As the label says once opened
From concentrate: As the label says once opened

In our recipes

Squeezed yourself: The default
Not from concentrate (chilled): Allowed where a recipe says so, mainly large punches
From concentrate: Not recommended

	Squeezed yourself	Not from concentrate (chilled)	From concentrate
How it is made	Pressed from the fruit and used as it is	Pressed, usually pasteurised, and sold chilled	Juice concentrated, then made back up with water
Taste	Bright, with the smell of the fruit	Rounder, slightly cooked	Flatter and more cooked
Keeps	The same day, by our rule	As the label says once opened	As the label says once opened
In our recipes	The default	Allowed where a recipe says so, mainly large punches	Not recommended

The gap is widest in a drink served cold and simple. In a large punch that is warmed or full of spice, a chilled not-from-concentrate carton is a reasonable trade; juice made up from concentrate is not.

It fades rather than turns

Juice it on the day and keep it chilled under a lid. Orange does not turn harsh overnight as lime does; it fades, losing its smell first and then its brightness, and by the next morning it tastes like a carton. Heavy, thin-skinned oranges give the most juice.

Using it

Using Fresh Orange Juice

Usage

From a splash to 120ml: 75ml in the Mimosa, 50ml in the Buck's Fizz, 120ml in the Screwdriver and the Garibaldi, 30ml in most rum punches. Beside lime or lemon it adds fruit and body while the sharper juice balances the sugar.

Pro Tip

When a punch needs a lot of juice, a chilled not-from-concentrate carton is the honest fallback. Juice made up from concentrate, warmed again in a punch, tastes cooked.

Top Tips

Squeeze it the same day. It does not sour as it stands; it goes dull.
Never use it in place of lemon or lime in a sour; there is too little acid to hold the syrup.
Strain it for drinks served up; pulp is a matter of taste in a tall glass.
For a Garibaldi, aerate the juice until it foams before you pour it over the Campari.

Possible Substitutions

A chilled not-from-concentrate carton: flatter, acceptable in a large or warm punch
Blood orange juice in season: a deeper colour, used the same way

Production Method

Oranges are washed, cut, and squeezed by hand or press. Juice is strained to remove seeds and excess pulp, then used immediately or stored briefly under refrigeration.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Why squeeze your own orange juice for a Mimosa?

Because the juice is half the drink: 75ml of orange to 75ml of prosecco. A pasteurised carton tastes faintly cooked, and dry sparkling wine shows that rather than hiding it. Squeezed the same day and strained, the juice keeps the smell of the fruit, which is most of what fresh adds.

Can orange juice replace lemon or lime in a sour?

No. Orange juice carries about 1% acid against roughly 6% for lemon or lime, so it cannot balance the syrup, and a sour rebuilt on it tastes soft and sugary. Keep the lemon or lime and add orange alongside, as the Bee's Knees does, if you want its fruit.

How long does fresh orange juice keep?

Use it the same day, covered and refrigerated. It does not turn sour or bitter overnight; it goes dull, losing its smell first, so day-old juice tastes much like a carton. In our experience whole oranges last a week or two chilled, and yield more juice once warmed to room temperature.

Is not-from-concentrate orange juice good enough for cocktails?

For a large punch, especially a warm one, it is a reasonable trade, and some of our punch recipes allow it. For a Screwdriver, a Mimosa or a Buck's Fizz, squeeze your own: those drinks are mostly juice, and the cooked edge of a pasteurised carton shows in every glass.

How many oranges do I need?

Plan on roughly 60 to 80ml from a medium orange. A Screwdriver at 120ml takes two oranges, sometimes three, and six Mimosas at 75ml each need about 450ml, or six to eight oranges. Squeeze a little extra, since yield varies from fruit to fruit and through the season.

What does orange juice do in a cocktail?

It lengthens the drink and adds sweetness, fruit and body. It does not balance one: with about 1% acid it leaves that job to lemon or lime. That is why it sits beside lime in the Rum Runner and the Bahama Mama, and why it can be most of a Screwdriver.

Should I strain the pulp out of orange juice?

For a coupe, yes: the pulp drops out and sits as a sludge in the stem. In a tall drink such as a Screwdriver it is a matter of taste. For a Garibaldi, aerate the juice until it foams; a centrifugal juicer does this as it juices.

Make something

Made with Fresh Orange Juice

Often Used With

Updated 18 October 2026

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