Apples rank among the most loved fruits ever the world over. The crunchy bite and the savory taste make it a good fruit for everyone.
You must have drunk some apple juice and maybe wondered just how it is made or what type of an apple was used to make the juice.
Well, the best apples for juicing happen to be many and you will easily find your favorite when you get to learn the variety.
The apple juice lovers have come to christen the apples that produce the best juice as ‘juice apples’.
There are over 60 types of apples that are recognized as good juice apples. A list of some of these apples will be included later in the article.
Different regions produce a range of apples which are unique in both the taste and their juice producing capacity.
Depending on where you live or the vagaries of marketing boards, you are bound to be limited to a number of apples from which you can make your favorite juice from.
Still, intense research keeps on being done on apples and this means that new juice apples keep on being introduced in to the already long list.
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How much juice foes an apple produce?
If you wanted to make some orange juice, all you need to do is cut and squeeze an orange. As for an apple, you will have to employ unique equipment if at all you are to get a substantial amount of juice concentrate.
The reason why apples are classified into those that give juice and those that don’t is because some are drier than others.
The best apples for juicing will give you a cupful (250 ml) by just squeezing 2 of them. As for the drier apples, you might need to use up to 5 apples to produce the same quarter liter of juice.
Where to get apples for juicing
People are increasingly becoming concerned for their health because of the amount of contaminants found in vegetables and fruits.
While apples are fronted by experts as some of the best fruits to eat there are fears that commercially grown apples carry pesticides and other harmful chemicals that might make them less appealing health-wise.
The best source of apples is if you grown them in your farm. Alternatively, you might know a friend who grows their apples naturally. If you know of no source, try joining the programs that allow fruit enthusiasts to identify farms and orchards where they can pick their own fruits. Some of the farms will charge a premium while others are looking for a way to dispose of some of the excess fruits.
Types of apples that make the best juice
- Gala
- Golden delicious
- Jonathon
- Macintosh
- Gravenstein
- Rajka
- Queen Cox
- Meridian
- Limelight
- Lady (Api)
- Jonagold
- Golden Russet
- Carlisle codlin
- Ballerina samba
- Catshead
- An Easy way of making apple juice at home
The making of apple juice might seem hard but it is one of the easiest things. First thing to note about apple juice is that if the apple doesn’t taste good then the juice won’t either. It is, therefore, imperative that you get ripe apples that taste good.
Ripe apples are sweeter and produce more juice while unripe apples give a little tart-tasting juice. A few blemishes are alright. Start by making a reasonable amount of juice, say by getting 20 pounds of apples. The steps to follow are as follows;
- Wash the apples thoroughly. You should remove or cut away all the worms or bad spots on the apples. Don’t peel the apples. Cut the apples into quarters while throwing away the seeds. Put the cut pieces in a pot.
- In the pot, add water (almost covering the apples). Simmer the apples for about an hour. The apples will be very soft and pulpy.
- Line a strainer on cheesecloth where you will then pour the cooked apples. You should the press the apples using a spoon so as to extract all the juice from the apples.
- Keep the cheesecloth in a refrigerator and let the juice drain over several hours preferably overnight.
- When the juice has drained, put it in a stockpot and simmer it. You should add sweeteners as you like such as white sugar. You can opt to the juice or not to.
- Store the juice in jars and remember to leave some headspace.
Apple pomace or remains of the whole process doesn’t normally go to waste. You can have applesauce, baby food or apple butter. Commercially, the pomace is used to produce pectin.
Using a juicer to make apple juice
Commercially, the best apples for juicing are put in a spin extraction machine which gives the juice. The resulting juice is then filtered, clarified, heat-treated and pasteurized so as to make it have a longer shelf life.
There are juicers which are designed to be used at home and which will help you extract maximum juice. These juicers employ the pressing process technology. Some juicers are better than others hence the need to thoroughly check them out. For best results, you should consider mixing different varieties of apples so as to achieve the ideal sweetness and tartness in a juice.
Conclusion
When you go out shopping for apples, you are most likely going to look for the ones with the best appearance and which are also firm. For the purposes of making juice, you should concentrate on the less appealing apples.
What is inside the apple is more important. This means that you are unlikely to make your pick from your local grocer. But on the other hand, they are cheaper.
The most important thing about making apple juice is to know the type of apple to use for the process. But trying the process first will make you know what to include next time and not what to. After trying the process several times, you will become an expert in picking the best apples for juicing.