The Sleuth is a curmudgeonly sort who tends to think that if we were meant to get calcium from orange juice, cows would grow on trees. Or something like that.
On the other hand, the Sleuth, like many folks, is not a big milk drinker. Since calcium is so important to bone health, the latest crop of calcium-enriched orange juices seemed worth checking out.
Two of the juices also had Vitamin D added, which helps the body absorb calcium. But how well humans absorb the varying kinds of calcium added to orange juice is a subject of some scientific debate. A 2005 study by Dr. Robert P. Heaney, an expert on bone health, found that calcium citrate malate was absorbed better by the body than a combination of tricalcium phosphate and calcium lactate. (Heaney's study was partly funded by Tropicana, which uses calcium citrate malate to fortify its juice.)
Heaney and his co-author wrote, ''We conclude that the quality of calcium fortification in currently available beverages is uneven at best,'' and urged beverage makers to ``establish standards that would ensure a uniform, high quality of calcium fortification.''
With this giant caveat, the Sleuth can report that all of the calcium-added juices got good grades for taste from our panel. No one noticed a difference between the fortified juices and regular OJ.
On the other hand, there was absolutely no consensus on which juice tasted best. So, in a rare non-curmudgeonly moment, the Sleuth is giving all of them an A for flavor and remembering the Latin aphorism: De gustibus non est disputandum (There's no accounting for taste).
Simply Orange with calcium, pulp free
Cost: $3.69 per 59-ounce bottle.
The label says: Not from concentrate; 100 percent pure squeezed orange juice; pasteurized.
Nutrition: Per 8-ounce serving: 110 calories, 450 mg potassium (13 percent Daily Value); 140 percent Daily Value Vitamin C; 35 percent Daily Value of calcium. (Calcium from calcium phosphate and calcium lactate.)
The verdict: Two of our tasters ranked this as the clear winner for taste and attributed it to the product not being made from concentrate. But two others said they didn't think it had the fresh-squeezed taste they expected, and our kid taster found it ``kind of sour.''
Grade: A
Minute Maid Premium Calcium + D
Cost: $3.29-$3.49 per 64-ounce carton.
The label says: Low Pulp. 100 percent pure squeezed orange juice. From concentrate.
Nutrition: (per 8-ounce serving): 110 calories; 450 mg potassium (13 percent Daily Value); 120 percent Daily Value Vitamin C; 25 percent Daily Value Vitamin D; 35 percent Daily Value calcium. (Calcium from calcium phosphate and calcium lactate.)
The verdict: Our child taster liked the balance of tart and sour, while two adults found it to be nicely sweet. Two others found it to be the least ''real tasting'' of the three.
Grade: A
Tropicana Pure Premium Calcium + Vitamin D, no pulp
Cost: $3.49 per 64-ounce carton.
The label says: 100 percent pure orange juice with calcium and Vitamin D
Nutrition: Per 8-ounce serving: 110 calories; 450 mg potassium (13 percent Daily Value); 120 percent Daily Value Vitamin C; 35 percent Daily Value calcium; 25 percent Daily Value Vitamin D. (Calcium from FruitCal, a combination of calcium hydroxide, malic acid, citric acid.)
The verdict: Two of our tasters found it the most like fresh-squeezed, but one found it ''very tart.'' Two others thought it was in the middle.
Grade: A
The bottom line: If you're not a milk drinker, choosing a calcium-fortified juice can be good to the bone. Just how good is unclear, but some additional calcium certainly beats none.
