Orange

Fresh Orange Juice in Orpington

Fresh Orange Juice at Crispy Dosa Orpington is squeezed to order from whole oranges and poured straight away. There is a specific chemical reason we do not squeeze it in advance, and it is the most interesting fact about orange juice.

Oranges contain a compound called limonoate A-ring lactone. Inside the intact fruit it is completely tasteless. Once the fruit is broken open, contact with the juice's own acid slowly converts it into limonin.

Limonin is intensely bitter, with an earthy aftertaste that lingers. The effect is called delayed bitterness, and the key word is delayed: it develops after squeezing, over hours, and warmth speeds it up.

The most sensitive palates pick it up at around half a part per million. Most people notice it between two and six. Above eight it turns genuinely unpleasant. Juice that has stood in a jug is not the same drink as juice squeezed when you order.

Cartoned juice has its own version of the problem. It is pasteurised, usually at eighty-five to ninety-five degrees for a few seconds, and often stored for months before it reaches a shelf.

Concentrate goes further still. Most of the water is boiled off under vacuum, and the aroma compounds go with it. Good producers capture those and add them back later as essence. Ours never left in the first place.

The result is bright and properly citrus-forward, with clean acidity and none of the slightly flat, cooked note that pasteurisation leaves behind. You notice the smell before the first sip.

It is our most-ordered juice at weekend brunch, alongside a dosa or an uttapam, and we open at nine on Saturdays and Sundays. The acidity also makes it a good palate-cleanser partway through a spiced meal.

It is worth ordering it with food rather than after. The acidity does its best work partway through a meal, resetting the palate between a spiced dish and the next mouthful.

Like all our juices it is naturally vegan and free from dairy and caffeine, which makes it an easy choice for a mixed table.

You will find us at 273 High Street, Orpington, BR6 0NW, open ten to ten Monday to Friday and from nine at weekends, with collection and delivery available through our online ordering.

Squeezed When You Order, for a Reason

Order Fresh Orange Juice in Orpington at Crispy Dosa Orpington and get it before the chemistry starts. Naturally vegan and dairy-free, with nothing added and no water. Ask us to leave the ice out if you prefer. Call 01689 492201 to book a table, or add it to your online order.

What Goes Into Our Fresh Orange Juice

• whole fresh oranges, squeezed to order
• ice (optional)