citric acid

[macybare]

When citric acid is in the ingredients to something say olives is it still RAW. I found these awesome olives stuffed with jalopenos and the ingredients is jalopeno's, olives, water, and citric acid. And then also, is tropicana pure orange juice really 100% orange juice? I can't find the ingredients anywhere on it and I'm guessing b/c it says 100% orange juice huge on the front plus it says no preservatives added. That would be great if it were so much less juicing to do.

[raeannasun]

The orange juice is not raw. They pasturize (sp) and heat it over 110 so there are no live enzymes. (The enzymes are the main benefit to eating 100% raw. Read Victoria Boutenko's book - 12 Steps to Raw Food and Alissa's book and articles for more info on this subject.)

From what I've read, the healthiest juice in containers are juice like Odwalla and Bolthouse that use "flash pasturization" - I don't think the enzyme's are still alive, but they have not been put through all the machinery that Tropicana and others use.

Hope you can get more info from others on this!

[Shivananda]

Citric acid is the naturally occurring ingredient in lemon juice that makes it taste sour. And it is the naturally occurring ingredient in lime juice that "cooks" the fish in Mexican ceviche and Hawaiian aki poki, although the fish is not heated.

And it is an ingredient added to many uncooked food items like the peppers you mentioned to increase their salable shelf life by preserving their color and helping keep them crisp, not mushy, and inhibiting mold growth. If you made those at home you wouldn't need to add the citric acid.