North America fruit juice industry in history

Fruits were introduced in America by European settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

In addition to being eaten fresh, the fruits were pressed or squeezed into juice.

The fruit juice processing industry of the United States is said to have been started by Dr Thomas B Welch and his son Charles in Vineland, New Jersey.

In 1869, Welch with his wife Lucy and his son, he harvested several baskets of Concord grapes, cooked them briefly, strained them through cheesecloth and poured the juice into 12 glass bottles.

By applying the theory of Louis Pasteur to the processing of Concord grapes they were able to produce ‘unfermented sacramental wine’.

Welch began marketing the product to church in southern New Jersey. By 1893, grape juice had become a national favorite beverage in the United States as thousands sampled it at the Chicago World’s Fair.

Thus began the production of preserved fruit juices, which was followed by a huge development in the 20th century.

In the home, fruit was juiced by hand until 1930, when the first commercial juicing machine was marketed by Norma Walker who encouraged diet or raw food and juices. A new addition to the fruit juice market was frozen juices, which first marketed during the 1930s.

During the 1950s, fruit juice became established as an integral part of the North American diet. A dramatic increase in consumption occurred in the years after the mid 1970s.

The demand was driven with the perception of a healthy life style and it was reinforced by the application of UHT (ultra high temperature) and aseptic packaging to fruit juices.
North America fruit juice industry in history