What happens
Most often, juices are sold in stores. The composition of such a drink:. Buy juice based on puree, not paste. It undergoes deeper technological processing, as a result of which there are practically no useful substances in it.
Some manufacturers, by the way, fill this gap. They add vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to tomato juice.
If the label says homogenized, don’t be alarmed. Homogenization is a process of repeated grinding of a product, creating a homogeneous consistency. Thanks to this, the juice does not stratify.
Appearance
High-quality tomato juice has a natural dark red color, it is thick and homogeneous. Juice that is too thin indicates that the manufacturer has saved on raw materials and added too much water. Such a drink will not bring harm, but you will not get the desired taste either.
Do you see the dark burgundy juice in front of you? Most likely, the drink was overheated, breaking the sterilization regime. Such tomato juice will not delight you either with vitamins or taste.
Packaging and shelf life
Cardboard packaging protects the product from exposure to sunlight, and therefore contributes to better preservation of vitamins. Well, in glass packaging you can always see the color of the product and evaluate its consistency. The shelf life of tomato juice is from 6 months to 3 years. Better to purchase a product that is no more than 6 months old.
Quality checking
Of course, it is difficult to check the quality of tomato juice in a store, but at home you can do it easily. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a glass of water, and then mix the resulting solution with the same amount of juice. If the color of the drink has not changed, be careful, there are artificial colors in the juice.
You can also check the juice for artificial flavors. Most are oil-based and can be detected by touch. You need to rub a drop of juice between your fingers. If the feeling of fat remains, then a synthetic flavor has been added to the juice.
It should be said that tomato juice is the lowest in calories. There are only 100 kcal in 20 grams of this juice. For comparison, in 100 grams of grape juice – 65 kcal.