Freeze concentration of fruit juices

Concentration of aqueous foods such as fruit juices, milk, beer, wine, coffee, and tea, is a major unit operation in the food industry. Technically feasible processes that are commercially available for the concentration of liquid foods include evaporation, freeze concentration, reverse osmosis, and ultrafiltration. Evaporation is considered to be the most economical and most widely used method of concentration. However, it is not suited for food products with very delicate flavors. Commercial processes for the concentration of such products by membrane separation techniques are not yet available. As compared to the conventional evaporation processes, concentration by freezing is potentially a superior and economic process for aroma-rich liquid foods. In the past, the process, however, was seldom used because of the investment cost and the considerable loss of concentrate in the withdrawn ice, and hence, the quality. Recent technological developments have minimized these two drawbacks associated with the earlier freeze concentration processes. In the coming decade, freeze concentration is seen as a potentially attractive method for the concentration of aroma-rich liquid foods, including fruit juices, coffee, tea, and selected alcoholic beverages. In this article, several aspects of the theoretical considerations behind freeze concentration of fruit juices, the development of new and cheaper designs, and commercially available freeze concentration processes are reviewed. The economics of the process and its application to several other areas of the food industry are also discussed.