C O C K TA I L |
JUST THE JUICE
IT’S PACKED FULL OF VITAMIN C, POTASSIUM, MAGNESIUM AND FOLATE BUT ORANGE JUICE OFFERS MORE THAN SIMPLE TANGY TART FLAVOUR AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE. FIONA MCDONALD LOOKS INTO THE SEGMENTED CITRUS FRUIT AND ITS ROLE IN COCKTAILS.
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outh Africa owes its historic settler existence to intrepid Portuguese seafarers who navigated their way around Africa finding a route to the spice islands and beyond. But in the age of sail, it was accepted that at least 50% of the crew would be lost during the voyage due to sickness and other privations and health issues. The disease which caused most of the trauma was scurvy – due to a lack of vitamin C. One month of little or no vitamin C in the diet and the body starts to protest. A quick and cursory Google search reveals that symptoms of scurvy include debilitating fatigue and loss of energy, weakness and sore arms and legs. When it gets worse and is left untreated there are marked changes to the hair and gums because of the decrease in red blood cells. Some bleeding from the skin may occur and as scurvy progresses, any cuts and wounds don’t heal. Death from infection and bleeding is the final result. Mercifully, scurvy is rare nowadays because a smart Scottish Royal Navy surgeon, James Lind, proved in 1753 that it could be treated successfully – by adding citrus fruit into the
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diet. The Royal Navy dragged its heels about implementing it as a standard on-board regime for sailors, waiting until 1795 to issue a fleet-wide edict. Interestingly, it was still part of the fighting men’s rations during World War II. American soldiers really hated the lemon drops in their ration packs so much so that great effort was made to produce an alternative. Sadly for the soldiers, the first orange juice concentrate in cans was only developed three years after the war ended ... Nutritionists are divided on the health benefits of orange juice. Yes, it has a high concentration of vitamin C – but it also contains a whacking amount of simple sugars, the equivalent of those contained in carbonated soft drinks. A cup of orange juice – freshly squeezed, not reconstituted from concentrate – contains nearly 21g of sugars and nearly 26g of carbohydrates.
