Natural form

Whole navel oranges showing the fruit's characteristic bright orange skin and size.

Shows the source fruit so readers can recognize what orange juice comes from.

Beverages

Orange Juice

Sweet, bright juice for breakfast, cocktails, and glazes

Sweet and tangy, orange juice is the breakfast classic, the soul of a mimosa or screwdriver, and a bright note in glazes and dressings. Keep it cold and use within a week.

Orange juice is the pressed juice of sweet oranges — bright, sweet-tart, fragrant with citrus oil, and one of the most useful fruit juices in the kitchen. Its balance of sugar and gentle acidity makes it both a flavoring and a tenderizing, brightening agent: it glazes ham, duck, and carrots; brightens marinades and dressings; deglazes pans into sweet-tart sauces; and lends fresh citrus lift to cakes, syrups, sorbets, and the classic crêpes Suzette. Freshly squeezed has the most aroma; concentrate or reduced juice gives concentrated punch where you don't want extra liquid.

Measured in: ml
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 7 days

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Fresh-squeezed

Brightest aroma — finishing and dressings

Blood orange juice

Deeper, berry-tinged, ruby color

Concentrate

Intense — flavor without extra liquid

How to use in cooking

Reduce orange juice into a glaze for ham, duck, salmon, or roasted carrots; whisk it into vinaigrettes and marinades (its mild acid tenderizes gently); or deglaze a pan into a sweet-tart sauce. In baking it flavors cakes, syrups, curds, and sorbets, and adds moisture and brightness. Add fresh zest alongside the juice to amplify the aromatic citrus oils, which carry more perfume than the juice alone. Reduce it well for concentrated flavor without watering down a sauce.

How to choose

Freshly squeezed has the brightest aroma — best for dressings and finishing. 100% juice (not 'drink' or sweetened) is best for cooking; avoid added sugar in savory glazes. Concentrate or reduced fresh juice gives intensity where you want flavor without excess liquid. Always add zest with the juice for full citrus character.

Common uses

Glaze ham, duck, or carrotsBrighten vinaigrettes and marinadesDeglaze for a sweet-tart pan sauceFlavor cakes, curds, and syrupsMake orange sorbet or granitaReduce into a citrus reductionAdd to cranberry sauceTenderize a citrus marinade