Concentrated Hawthorn Juice
Concentrated hawthorn juice is the juice of hawthorn fruit, principally Crataegus pinnatifida and related Crataegus species, concentrated by vacuum evaporation to a high solids liquid used as a beverage and confectionery base.
Hawthorn fruit is unusual among pome fruits for combining high acidity with very high pectin. Titratable acidity of the single strength juice runs well above that of apple, dominated by citric and malic acid, and the pH sits between 3.0 and 3.5. That acidity is what gives hawthorn drinks their sharp character and also what makes the juice microbiologically robust. The pectin content is high enough to control the whole process design, since untreated mash presses poorly and untreated juice gels on concentration. Colour comes from anthocyanins and carotenoids in the skin, and the phenolic fraction includes procyanidins and the flavonoids hyperoside and vitexin, which are used as identity markers.
Concentrate is normally traded at 60 to 70 Brix as a dark red to reddish brown viscous liquid. It disperses fully in water. Anthocyanin degradation on heating and browning driven by the high sugar and acid combination are the practical limits on shelf life.
We source bulk Concentrated Hawthorn Juice from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturers are in Hebei. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Beverage ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear viscous liquid, free from sediment, clarified grade |
| Colour | Dark red to reddish brown |
| Flavour and odour | Characteristic sharp hawthorn, no cooked or fermented note |
| Soluble solids | 65.0 to 70.0 Brix at 20 degrees Celsius |
| pH | 3.0 to 3.5 |
| Titratable acidity as citric acid | 10.0 percent minimum on concentrate |
| Transmittance at 625 nm | 90 percent minimum, clarified grade |
| Pectin | Negative to alcohol test, clarified grade |
| Sulphur dioxide | Not detected |
| Lead | 0.05 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.1 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 100 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 20 cfu/g maximum |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
Common Markets Grades
The main grade split is between clarified concentrate, fully depectinised and filtered to a bright liquid for clear drinks, and cloudy or pulped concentrate, which retains suspended solids and more pigment and is used where a fuller mouthfeel or a whole fruit declaration is wanted. Hawthorn puree concentrate, produced from finished pulp rather than pressed juice, is traded separately again and carries the pectin that confectionery makers want for set.
Beyond that, concentrate is bought on Brix, on titratable acidity and on the acid to Brix ratio, since the acidity is the reason most formulators use hawthorn at all. Colour value is specified against a supplier reference or by absorbance. Organic certified lots and lots segregated by growing region are traded as separate specifications, and sulphite free declaration is standard for export material.
Applications
- Hawthorn juice drinks and reconstituted beverages, the largest single outlet in the Chinese market
- Sour and digestive drink blends, where the high acidity supplies the sharp profile
- Haw flakes, fruit rolls and pressed fruit sweets, where natural pectin contributes the set
- Jellies, gummies and fruit chews, used as an acidulant and a colour source together
- Fruit juice blends, where a small addition raises acidity without adding foreign flavour
- Dairy fruit preparations and drinking yoghurts, matched to the low pH of the base
- Herbal and botanical infusions, blended with jujube, chrysanthemum or liquorice
- Sauces, glazes and marinades, contributing tartness and browning sugars
- Dietary supplement syrups and liquids specified on flavonoid content
China Manufacturers of Concentrated Hawthorn Juice
Top Concentrated Hawthorn Juice manufacturers in China.
Hebei Hongfeng Food Co., Ltd.6 ingredients in the directory
HeBei PeiRan Century Nutritional Food Co., Ltd.5 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Hawthorn fruit has a long history of food use in East Asia and is also eaten in parts of Europe, so hawthorn fruit juice is generally handled in the European Union under the general food law and the fruit juice framework rather than as a novel food, but the position depends on the Crataegus species and on the preparation, and importers check the entry in the Commission novel food catalogue before placing a new preparation on the market. Preparations of hawthorn leaf and flower are separately covered by traditional herbal medicinal product monographs, which is a different regulatory route from food and should not be conflated with juice used as a beverage ingredient.
In the United States hawthorn fruit juice is marketed as a conventional food ingredient and as a dietary supplement ingredient under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, with no colour additive or food additive listing involved because the juice functions as a food. Juice processors selling packaged juice operate the hazard analysis and critical control point plan required by 21 CFR Part 120. Codex covers the material through its general standard for fruit juices and nectars, and pesticide residue and heavy metal limits of the destination market apply to the concentrate as to any fruit product.
Manufacturing Process
Fruit is received, washed and sorted, then destoned, since hawthorn seed is hard and must be removed before milling. The destoned flesh is milled to a mash and heated briefly, which softens the tissue and raises pigment extraction, then dosed with pectinase and held until the viscosity drops far enough for the mash to release juice. This enzymatic depectinisation is the critical step for hawthorn, and underdosing shows up immediately as poor press yield and as gelling later in the evaporator.
The mash is pressed on a belt or horizontal rotary press, and the raw juice is screened and centrifuged. For clear grades a second enzyme hold, fining with gelatine and silica sol, and filtration on diatomaceous earth or a crossflow membrane follow. The juice is deaerated and concentrated in a multiple effect falling film evaporator under vacuum, with the temperature kept low to protect anthocyanins. Concentrate is drawn at target Brix, pasteurised, cooled rapidly and drum frozen or filled aseptically into bag in box.
