We received two 5-gallon buckets brimming with local apples. I don't know what specific variety they are--maybe you will recognize them from the pictures. The fruit is bright red with firm white juicy flesh. They have a fine flavor for eating out of hand. Such an apple is ideal for the juice technique posting today.
A dear lady from Toulouse, France, married to a noted regional artist and sheep rancher who passed away in 2004, shared this juice extraction process with me some years ago. Her orchard produced a Golden Delicious variety, prolific and hardy in our cold zone. The fruit was clear yellow in color, highly aromatic, crisp, and excellent for eating raw or cooking. I remember sitting in the shade on their lawn on hot summer days and drinking a pitcher of her apple juice over ice--as clear and pale as the rarest Champagne. I have made it each fall ever since--to preserve that memory of summer again and again.
Most any local apple will do--however, if the fruit is sweet enough to enjoy raw, you will not have to add much sugar, if any. This makes the result even more attractive to those of us who watch our sugar calorie intake. RED skinned apples make a lovely pink color--a non alcohol rose.
Our apples required quite a bit of trimming---many were windfalls, and the birds and squirrels had discovered a treat. After thoroughly washing them with the garden hose, I set up a simple work station in the yard and split the apples and trimmed away any bitten or bruised spots.
Two brimming pails of whole apples produced two about 2/3 full pails of apple pieces. (See photos).
The technique we are using is basically soaking split or quartered apples, not peeled, not cored, with a solution of cream of tartar powder and boiling water. That's it. The apples are weighted down in their buckets after covering them with boiling water, and left to soak 24 hours. After that period of time, the juice is strained off, reboiled, sweetened if necessary, and processed in Mason jars. Please see posting on processing grape juice September 18, 2010.
Basic Proportions for Apple Juice
(easily doubled or tripled if you have space)
3 quarts apples, halved or quartered depending on size (don't bother to core)
5 quarts boiling water
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
Scrub apples, trim, and place in a scrupulously clean bucket, large kettle or steel basin.
Sprinkle cream of tarter over pieces. For each bucket pictured, I used 2 tablespoons cream of tartar each.
Pour boiling water over apples, agitate slightly to dissolve powder. Weigh apples down to keep them covered with solution. Use a heavy plate that will fit in the bucket and set another weight on top -- see photo -- a glass baking dish is added for a little extra weight. Cover pails with a lid or plastic cutting board to retain some of the warmth and keep it all clean.
Let stand 24 hours.
Strain the apples through a colander lined with cheesecloth or a thin wet dish towel. Catch juice in another basin or stock pot. Discard apple pieces.
Bring juice to a rolling boil and simmer at least 20 minutes to kill any bacteria or yeasts. Taste juice. If you want sweeter juice, start with one half cup of sugar and taste again before adding more. Bring to a boil again to completely dissolve sugar. If you desire more intense apple flavor, continue to boil and reduce quantity of juice 10 - 15%.
Have jars ready-- sterilized and hot. Fill and top with new lids. When sealed, wipe off any sticky on the jars and store them in a cool dark place.
Enjoy!
KGC
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