Basic Information
Fruit juice is a liquid extracted from fruit, usually by pressing, that may be consumed as a drink.
Prior to the modern era, fruit juices were relatively short lived and needed to be consumed fresh or processed on into cordials or alcohololic beverages or else their high sugar content would lead them to spoil rapidly. With the introduction of refrigeration, pasturisation and inert atmosphere packaging it has become easier to store them for later consumption and make them a generally more marketable proposition.
This category should also be thought to include juices extracted from vegetables and similar preparations, normally far less appetising but consumed for health reasons.
Fruit and vegetable juices may also be used for cooking or decocted into a sauce such as the Roman defructum (made from grape juice). More generally they may be used as a source of sugar (albiet normally fructose rather than sucrose) given sufficient time and effort.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Probably quite exotic in a medieval European setting but common in many others.