“Although hard cider (fermented apple juice with an alcoholic “kick”) was an American staple since Colonial times, unfermented fruit juices were not very popular, except as children’s drinks. The first commercial non-alcoholic fruit juice was manufactured by Thomas Bramwell Welch of Vineland, New Jersey, a Methodist minister who strongly favored temperance. He first produced what he called “unfermented wine,” intended for sacramental use, in 1869. He didn’t succeed in replacing wine in church services, but his son Charles marketed Welch’s Grape Juice as a temperance beverage with the slogan: “The lips that touch Welch’s are all that touch mine.” During Prohibition, fruit juice– specifically grape juice– increased its popularity, particularly those brands which offered directions on how to convert grape juice into wine, which was not against the law– as long as you didn’t sell or transport it. (My grandfather made wine in his bathtub…)
Fruit juice changed from a temperance beverage to a health drink after the discovery of vitamin C. Beginning in 1920s, California and Florida orange growers began to promote citrus fruit as a good source of the newly identified health-giving substances called “vitamins,” particularly stressing vitamin C. Orange juice sales doubled during the 1920s and 1930s, but sales skyrocketed after World War II with the introduction of concentrated orange juice in a convenient frozen form. And recently hard cider has made a comeback, as have been noted in previous posts.” Write 4 original comments and then respond to the 4 comments that is under files.
