One of our favorite times of the year is upon us, Apple Season, and that means its time to make homemade apple juice!

We are fortunate to live in an area that transitions us from a hot and steamy Summer to a beautiful, cool and crisp Autumn. The leaves are beginning to change from a dark green hue to vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red.  Of course, with that change comes our fall harvest.

Apples have begun to ripen, and that means lots of great fruit, sauce, desserts and juices are ready to be made and consumed. We have had several posts on what to make with apples (see below), but one that sometimes gets overlooked (because it is so easy) is all natural Apple Juice.  With sweet varieties of apples available, such as Gala, Fuji, Rome, Honeycrisp and Red Delicious, there is no need to add additional sugars. The sweetness from the apples themselves is plenty to provide for the best tasting apple juice that you have ever had.

You can use ‘seconds’ apples – the orchards will usually sell you them at a discounted price due to small bruising and damaged spots. However, it will be much less time consuming and the juice will be sweeter if you use orchard ‘store’ quality apples.  Either way is acceptable but the most important thing to remember is that you know what’s in your juice if you make it  yourself!

Check out some of our other Apple Recipes:

Apple Cinnamon Honey Jelly Recipe

Apple Pie Filling Recipe – Pie instructions included

Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe-No SUGAR added

Secrets to Canning Applesauce Recipe

Traditional Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe

Apple Crisp Recipe – Gluten and Dairy Free

 

 

 

Homemade Apple Juice

*makes approximately 3 quarts

Ingredients:
36 Medium size apples (mixture of varieties)
4 cups water

Instructions:
1. Wash and core the apples, leaving skin.

2. Cut apples into slices.

3. Place apple slices into a large stockpot and add water just until the apples are covered (approximately 4 cups).

4. Slowly boil the apples for approximately 25 minutes – the apples should be soft.

5. Place a filter in a sieve and gently mash the apple/water mixture over a bowl/pot for the juice to be collected.  *If you don’t have a sieve, line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and let drain for at least 2 hours.

6. Taste the juice – if it is too strong you can add additional water to dilute.

Keep in refrigerator for up to a week.

To preserve by canning: 
7. Heat juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat to a low simmering boil.

8. Ladle hot juice to hot canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim and center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fingertip tight.

9. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude as needed. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not be able to be pushed up and down when center is pressed.

Store in cool, dark area.

Enjoy!

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Mary and Jim