Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Squeezing Sunshine
Tue, January 6th of 2009
12:13 pm
My Bin is a sucker for those free food samples at supermarkets while I tend to turn my nose up at them: god only knows how long those things have been sitting there. We’re in Rustan’s Fresh supermarket at Rockwell ostensibly to get healthy – er, make that “healthy-er” food after the eating orgy that was the holidays.
We manage to get a block of tofu and some assorted greens into our shopping basket but then a loaf of white bread (is white bread healthy?) and a pack of dried mangoes (healthy?) wend their way in as well.
I’ve lost my Bin somewhere in the immediate vicinity. Despite my healthy intentions, I catch myself gazing at the meat section. Several special cuts put out for the holidays are still there, the crown roasts of pork, whole legs of lamb, and the cutely-named “military salute pork chops,” frenched center-cut rib chops positioned so that the bone tips face upwards in a jaunty “salute.”
Snapping myself out of my meat meditations, I find my Bin staring transfixed at a tall, odd-looking contraption. Designed to squeeze several oranges in one go, the globular fruits ride a Ferris wheel-like gizmo before being unceremoniously squashed – or is it squeezed? Their golden liquid trickles into a container connected to a spout, the lever of which is pressed down by the attendant. Literally, orange juice coming out of a faucet and into a one-liter plastic bottle.
Zeroing in for a sale, the attendant hands my free-food-sample-sucker of a husband a small plastic cup of OJ (orange juice). He swigs it in and as if on cue, an automatic “mmm” escapes from his lips and he proceeds to order one bottle (P299), the equivalent of which — the attendant dutifully tells us — to the juice of 14-15 oranges. Still the skeptic, I protest, “But all the pulp is left behind!” In reply, the attendant removes a “drawer” from the orange-squeezing mammoth. Peering in, I cluck dismissively at the pathetically small amount of pulp I see.
Today at breakfast (where these photos are taken), my Bin is still swooning over his orange juice. “It doesn’t get any better than this,” he rhapsodizes as he glugs it down in between bites of baked macaroni. (My husband is not a grains and granola guy). I afford myself a tiny sip. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit that it’s great juice, giving even my favorite Florida’s Natural a run for its orange juice money. Sluicing through the mouth, the liquid makes me feel like I’ve just swallowed the sun, freshness I can feel. It’s sweet and as I swallow, the inimitable citrus flavor comes through pricking the roof of my mouth. “Ahhh!” I want to say.
As far as healthy goes, this is good stuff. I like to think that each sip is imbuing my sugar-saturated/coffee-hydrated system with vitamins. Plus, with each navel orange costing P26 each (at least in Rustan’s Fresh, Rockwell) this bottle of orange may be a better buy. As I ponder my Bin’s glass of OJ, I realize that orange juice isn’t really orange but more of a mellow yellow.
But I still miss the pulp.
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Hi Lori,
Please clarify this issue… If you said that you came across a machine that freshly squeezes 14-15 oranges into a bottle and sells for P299, am I to assume that those are DelMonte oranges, as your pictured bottle label indicates? Or perhaps DelMonte sells premium OJ off the grocery shelf just like Nestle’s version which by the way only costs 85-89 bucks (depending on where you buy it). I’m willing to try out DelMonte’s OJ for the sake of comparison.
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Comment by Confused — January 6, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
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Comment by lori — January 6, 2009 @ 2:29 pm
I agree, I would miss my pulp too. But, this looks tasty and healthy! I just adore citrus when it is cold outside, perfect for winter.
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Comment by Anne @ Pink Galoshes — January 7, 2009 @ 1:54 am
We too like the pulp. But when oranges become too pricey for everyday juice, we settle for a kilo of some good old dalanghita for fresh juice. But as you say, this is worth a try.
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Comment by Rico — January 7, 2009 @ 10:55 am
My husband and I tried this in Rustan’s Rockwell and we both agreed: Florida’s Natural is still better (and cheaper too.)
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Comment by Pearlie — January 7, 2009 @ 3:37 pm
My wife, son and nephew liked this as well. Better than any pasteurized orange juice I’ve ever tried, including the US version of Tropicana.
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Comment by mru — January 7, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
This del monte freshly squeezed OJ comes in as a close second to my Florida’s Natural Grower’s Style with most pulp.
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Comment by garfield — January 7, 2009 @ 7:32 pm
I used to buy those partuerized orange juice until this del monte FOJ ( fresh orange juice) came out. Its more expensive so I did a little research and found that pasteurization destroys many of the most imortant nutrients . Do your research. I was already paying a lot so why not pay a little more just to be sure I’m geting the pure and fresh one. You’ll never know whats inside those pastuerized cartons/bottles. And this one goes straight into your stomach. Bought my FOJ in my favorite supermart – Unimart
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Comment by rocky — January 8, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
It is also available at Unimart…..we bought a bottle and after trying it at home…..It just reminds us of the Fruit juice stores in Hongkong. Can’t wait to buy some more. I just hope they givee discounts to volume orders.
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Comment by mommy — January 11, 2009 @ 1:21 am
I just got a bottle actually 2 bottles of the freshly squeezed orange juice. I ask the lady their and she said they use Naval oranges for the juice. personally I prefer this over Florida’s natural. For this one I am 100% sure its really fresh since you see it being sliced and squeezed right in front of you.
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Comment by Goldie — January 12, 2009 @ 5:48 pm
I got my fresh oj at unimart. When I asked the friendly del monte guy about the pulp, he gave me a small plastic bag of it for free.
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Comment by Ate Mo — January 12, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
Yes, if you want the pulp, you may ask for it. I guess they may just presume that people don’t like it.
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Comment by solraya — January 13, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
I also found myself to change my eating habits this year…for a “healthier me” resolution as well! What I’m doing is I buy 2 half-dozen oranges in the supermarket for P90 per half-dozen and I squeeze them myself at home using a really cheap electronic juicer which I bought at an appliance store in Megamall for P299! I feel it’s a lot healthier this way since I juice it myself and I have other juice options (oranges, lemon, lime or combination)
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Comment by melainey — January 15, 2009 @ 10:58 am
i saw that and I actually want the machine. *wink. wanna try that!
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Comment by jana — January 16, 2009 @ 3:56 am
Im not very found of juices because of the preservatives (if any) and the sugar they contain. But my boyfriend, being an OJ fan, purchased a bottle from Unimart. Freshly squeezed he said. It was really good! Quite expensive though.
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Comment by dweebi — January 26, 2009 @ 1:04 pm