A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component (in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice. One benefit of producing a concentrate is that of a reduction in weight and volume for transportation as the concentrate can be re-constituted at the time of usage by the addition of the solvent.

Development

Concentrated juice was developed during World War II to provide nourishment for the armed forces.

Bronson Cushing Skinner, developer of the first palatable orange juice concentrate, was born June 26, 1889. After graduating in 1911 from Stevens Institute of Technology, Bronson Skinner managed the Skinner Machinery Company, founded by his father. In 1929 he sold the company to Food Machinery Corporation, although he continued to manage it. In 1935 he left FMC and founded Citrus Concentrates, Inc. to manufacture concentrated orange juice.

To develop his concentrate, Skinner boiled water out of juice under a partial vacuum at a temperature so low, the flavor and vitamin content were not damaged. He adapted evaporators for this purpose. He began selling his concentrate to Great Britain between 1936 and 1941. When the United States entered World War II, the War Food Administration sent him $1.5 million to build a plant to supply concentrate for the Allies. The plant operated until August 27, 1945, 13 days after Japan surrendered. Bronson Cushing Skinner died August 4, 1981. His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Minute Maid plant, 427 San Christopher Drive, Dunedin, Florida.

Drinking fruit juice from concentrate can have benefits for the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of transporting the juice from the country of origin to the country of sale.

Other

Concentrate can also be the residue valuable metal from which most of the waste rock has been removed. The residue metal becomes the raw material for smelting.