Any way to salvage cheap, bitter orange juice?

[MrsBridges]

Last week, when my cash flow was a bit restricted, I tried to stretch my grocery dollars by buying Kroger brand frozen orange juice (with calcium) instead of my usual Minute Maid. I had previously discovered that there's enough difference in quality to justifying buying the Minute Maid, but I figured I could put up with less-than-perfect orange juice for a week. Problem is, it's not just less than ideal, it tastes bitter.

I hate to waste food, so is there anything I can do with this to make it useful? I tried making a smoothie with frozen strawberries and mangoes, but the bitter orange juice overwhelmed the fruit (although it tasted better after I tried mixing in some plain yogurt). I have about a pint of mixed juice and a carton of still frozen juice (which underscores how bad the juice is, since I usually go through two cartons of frozen OJ in a week). I'd love to have a more healthful suggestion than mixing it with ginger ale or dumping sugar into it.

[MidwesternerTT]

If you have an unopened carton still and your receipt, return it to the store for a refund and explain why, There may have been a problem with processing (e.g., getting pith included would cause bitterness) or handling during shipping / store stocking that caused the taste issue. Telling them gives them a chance to investigate and correct.

We've developed similar loyalty to Minute Maid brand, after a series of side-by-side comparisons. But only one of the tried alternatives was undrinkable; we tossed it and supplied the lot number/date to that company's customer service via e-mail.

[Cherylptw]

I'd add it to a bit of cornstarch in a skillet; whisk in some fresh ginger, a little brown sugar and some crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce it and use as a sauce for a chicken/pork/shrimp stir fry.

Add it as the liquid in a cake recipe or even better, make a orange curd: add a little grated orange zest to intensify the flavor. Use to fill a prebaked shortbread tart shell. Pipe on the whipped cream or meringue (quickly browned in the oven). Plenty you can do with it.

[MrsBridges]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will try adding some frozen concentrate to the pineapple for tomorrow's breakfast, and I'll start googling for marinade recipes. I will continue to consider all other suggestions.

[firecooked]

I had some extra OJ that I used as a liquid for brining ... I used a couple of cups of juice, 1 tablespoon salt, herbs, garlic. Soaked a small elk steak for a few hours, it came out nice.

[Isolda]

Add coconut water to it. It works miracles on any sour, bitter, or too-thick juice. Vita Coco is the brand we use, but Amy and Brian's (in the blue steel cans) is better, if a bit more expensive.

[Uncle Bob]

Mix it with cheap vodka....

Enjoy!

[jeanmarieok]

Can you mix the bad OJ with another, better juice?

[sparky403]

I don't know if it's workable in your situation - but, frozen OJ concentrate is a great dressing for a fruit salad... just add a couple of tablespoons to a bowl of your favorite chopped up friut with maybe a bit of ginger and mint... it's money.

[greygarious]

Supposedly, salt brings out sweetness. So I would experiment with a pinch of salt in 4-6 oz. of juice, if you don't have sodium issues. If it helps, fine. If not, try Nectresse, a new sweetener that combines a fruit extract with a tiny amount of sugar. Or try cooking down a cup or so of juice, reducing by a third or more, and taste that. If it's better, reduce the rest and freeze to use as a syrup or when making homemade jello.

[Scoutmaster]

I'd look for a marinade recipe to use it up.