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245th out of 469 books
—
979 voters
Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice
Close to three quarters of U.S. households buy orange juice. Its popularity crosses class, cultural, racial, and regional divides. Why do so many of us drink orange juice? How did it turn from a luxury into a staple in just a few years? More important, how is it that we don’t know the real reasons behind OJ’s popularity or understand the processes by which the juice is pro...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
May 26th 2009
by Yale University Press
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This book is written in a very academic style, and it's best for somebody who truly cares about a history of not just how orange juice evolved through the last century but about processed foods in general (with OJ as a specific example). There's nothing too sinister about OJ and it certainly won't kill you, but the marketing definitely misrepresents the final product. OJ is heated several times during processing and orange oil is removed from the juice (oil that got into the juice by squeezing t...more
Orange juice won’t kill you but that doesn’t mean that we are buying what we think we are. Hamilton points out the degree of misinformation and the marketing manipulation at work in production and consumption of Florida orange juice. I have read Fast Food Nation, Omnivore’s Dilemma , Chicken , Tangled Roots , Stuffed and Starved , Food Politics , and many other similar works and still I was shocked.
Alissa Hamliton’s research into the history of the orange juice industry and the production an...more
Alissa Hamliton’s research into the history of the orange juice industry and the production an...more
Americans slam orange juice like its medicinal soda. I remember finishing off half-full jugs in my parent's refrigerator with impunity. Somehow the notion of juice, with all its vitamins and natural ingredients negated any notion of all the sugar it contained. Suggesting a product comes from natural content does a lot to warp perceptions.
Only in adulthood, after years of not drinking orange juice, did I discover that orange juice was the key reason I had an upset stomach through most of high sch...more
Only in adulthood, after years of not drinking orange juice, did I discover that orange juice was the key reason I had an upset stomach through most of high sch...more
Sadly, as I sit to write this review I discovered that I misplaced the many notes I took on this book. First, for a book published by an academic press I found it quite approachable considering I have little experience in nutrition, American food history, or the agricultural history of Florida. I learned a good deal about all of these topics and found the book informative and reassuring, in that I knew I wasn't drinking the OJ my brain wanted if I bought it at the supermarket, and probably not e...more
Mar 11, 2009
Angie
marked it as to-read
Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice is about the orange juice industry and the practices used by companies in making it. It follows the same type of content as in Fast Food Nation (but by a different author), except this book is about orange juice. If you want to read an interview of the author and get a better sense of the book, you can read it here. I’ll post my own thoughts of the book when I read it.
Orange juice is healthy and wholesome. We drink it because it's fresh, full of Vitamin C and made from the natural fruit of orange trees. Right? Not hardly, says Alissa Hamilton in this darkly absorbing history of the Florida orange juice industry. Even if the carton says "not from concentrate," what you drink when you pour a glass of conventional, pre-squeezed orange juice is wholly industrialized, more a product of laboratory "food science" than of those sunshine-nourished orange groves Bing C...more
What does Bing Crosby, the agricultural revolution, NFC and FDA S.341 have to do with orange juice? They all help 'define' orange juice as we know it today. Squeezed examines Florida orange juice, the product and the industry, from a historical perspective to its current state as we all find in the grocery aisle. Squeezed tries to answer this basic question, is orange juice really orange juice?
While I found the book to be interesting, especially development of a orange juice standard, the evolu...more
While I found the book to be interesting, especially development of a orange juice standard, the evolu...more
I WILL NEVER BUY ORANGE JUICE AGAIN! I BOUGHT A JUICER AND SQUEEZE MY OWN STUFF!!
Alissa Hamilton brings to light the ugly truth about processed juice -- it’s certainly not fresh, wholesome, or natural!!
Alissa Hamilton brings to light the ugly truth about processed juice -- it’s certainly not fresh, wholesome, or natural!!
Quite a slog to work through, but still interesting enough. Most of what we eat just isn't at all what it appears to be. Even when we DO read the labels. OJ isn't harmful, but it also isn't just orange juice.
An interesting expose into the orange juice industry. I had no idea how processed not from concentrate orange juice is (although I already knew it doesn't taste as good as fresh squeezed oranges), and how the juice industry is really undermining Florida citrus growers. However, it really comes as no surprise.
A look at what actually is in that box or can of orange juice at the supermarket (including how companies push the boundaries of the FDA standards).
Great book, we do not drink OJ anymore after reading this!!!
Aug 04, 2009
David
added it
Academic, but good info. Tropicana ain't what it says it is!
So many good reviews so I'll just add. "The more you know"
I suspect this is a thesis or dissertation turned into a book. It's an okay read, but bogged down in the middle.
You know those books like Freakonomics that are written by 1 content person and 1 professional writer? This book could have seriously benefited by using this method. Instead it is just the content person who is a decent writer but not great. Fortunately the content is amazing and completely new -- I guarantee you will not have thought about 80% of what she talks about in the book. Acknowledge the sometimes-painful writing style and read the book anyway -- you'll be glad you did.
This book was really useful for me; I stopped drinking juice almost entirely. So, the content is great, and super-important. However, the actual writing and therefore readability of the book were not at the level of most of the non-fiction I read.. The book seemed more academic, and had large swaths of fairly difficult reading...
Is ok book. Only for people obsessed about OJ. Not really intresting if you're not really into OJ
Great topic, terrible writing. Ok not terrible, but semi-painful to read.
May 22, 2013
Melissa Dunn
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2013
Ami Lynch
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May 19, 2013
Maggie
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May 16, 2013
Jillian Scherrer
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May 04, 2013
Meghan Heather
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Apr 28, 2013
Amanda
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Apr 28, 2013
Amy Mancini-marshall
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Apr 25, 2013
Angie
marked it as to-read
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Aug 04, 2009 08:05am