What could be healthier than an apple everyday? This has a number of health benefits that no other fruit or vegetable has. It’s also great in taste and people of all ages simply love it! Apple is full of vitamins and is great in nutritional values. The only thing we get from a ready made apple juice is the preservative. And unfortunately, a preservative doesnât let your body absorb the nutrients in it. Plus, when you make your own apple juice at home, you are making one of the best yet inexpensive drinks of all!
Complexity Level: Basic
Time Required: 10 to 20 minutes.
Estimated Cost: 4$ to 8$
Resources Required:
1. Apples
2. Clean cloth
3. Sugar
4. Container
5. Some sort of press device
6. Mixer/juicer
7. Boiler
8. Preservative(optional)
9. Spatula
Instructions:
1. Choose your apples:
This first step is the most important of all. This is about how to choose your apples. The apples should be not only bright red in color but sweet in taste too. Fuji is considered the best among the apples available in the market (like Coxâs, Johnathan apples, Golden Noble etc).
2. Clean your apples:
Now clean you apples well. You can also use a very mild dish washer to wash the apples. Also, any damages or bruises on the apples while handling them and if they are stale at some places, make sure you cut that part of the apple properly. If you are making apple juice manually, do not peel the apples in the next step.
3. Do the final task:
After you have washed them well, cut and peel them. Then you can put the apple pieces in any vessel for boiling, but a double boiler will be the apt thing for this recipe. Keep it boiling between 95 degree Celsius or 203 degree Fahrenheit. Keep removing the juice after a while repeatedly. Alternatively, if you are doing a manual apple juice, then just crush/grind the apples and then press it against a clean, thin cloth put over a container to collect the juice. Keep repeating by pouring water.
4. Other ingredients introduced:
Now add the other ingredients like sugar, lemon juice, citric acid (if you want a preservative) that you have listed or any extra flavors like cinnamon that you would want to add to the juice.
5. Refrigerate the delicious juice:
Make sure you refrigerate the juice before drinking or serving. Any juice tastes best when chilled. Do not add ice cubes. This might make it taste diluted.
FAQs:
1. How to store home made apple juice?
You can store it for a very long time if you wish by adding any kind of preservative like citric acid. Store this in glass jars. Liquids always remain fresh in glass containers.
2. Why are Fuji apples used most of the times?
Fuji apples need less artificial sugar because they are naturally sweet and hence preferred over other apples to prepare juice.
Quick Tips:
- Making the juice with the appleâs skin is a healthier way as the nutrients stay intact with the peel.
- Keep stirring the apples while you boil them or else, they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan/boiler.
Things to watch out for:
- Raw apples- these are not good for a juice in any way. Make sure you check you apples well while selecting. Raw apples are not only less juicy but also change the entire taste of your juice.
- Take notice of the amount of sugar you put in. Keep it appropriate to the level of sweetness the apples themselves contain.
