With the COLD & FLU season fully upon us, orange juice shows up as one part of our arsenal of remedies. And since you can spend a little or a lot for orange juice, we thought it would be helpful to research whether more money always buys a better product. Here's what the juice-tasting "experts" have to say about it:

Fresh squeezed is the best (that's no surprise), but store-bought fresh squeezed juice requires no work and tastes nearly as good. If your supermarket carries fresh squeezed, you might give it a try. The juices from local markets were rated as "very good," but they were also expensive-sometimes more than 65 cents a glass.

Among the boxed or plastic bottled, chilled juices, the not-from-concentrates have a fresher flavor than the made-from-concentrates. That's because juices made from concentrate are pasteurized twice--once when the concentrate is made and again when the juice is packaged. Because pasteurization destroys some flavor, you want to buy a juice that's been pasteurized only once. Generally, both juices cost about the same (around 45 cents a glass), so why not buy the one that tastes better?

If price is your top concern, frozen orange juice concentrate is your best buy. It's been pasteurized just once (when the concentrate was made) and tastes almost as good as chilled not-from-concentrate juice that costs nearly twice as much. Here are some taste-test-highlights, with choices listed in order of preference:

Fresh Squeezed (65 cents/serving; "Like eating an orange," "Balanced flavor.")

Store-Bought Fresh Squeezed (62 cents/serving; "Tastes like fresh squeezed.")

Chilled, Not from Concentrate (42 cents/serving; "Not too acidic" and "Sweet.")

Frozen, from Concentrate (25 cents/serving; "Too tart" but "not bad for not fresh.")

Chilled, from Concentrate (42 cents/serving; "Sour," "Too bitter," and "Stale.")

SO, the best value turns out to be frozen concentrate--it has a surprisingly good flavor and costs less than the other options. The juice with the best taste turns out to be juice squeezed at the supermarket--it tastes nearly as good as juice you squeeze yourself!