The mashed apples are then left to ferment for one or two weeks. Then, the apples are covered in sugar, lemon juice, and spices to make them taste sweet and tangy. The process of making apple cider starts by washing and shredding apples with a mill. People have been making it for centuries and its popularity has only grown in recent years. How is Apple Cider Made?Īpple cider is the beverage of the fall season. Cider has a deeper and more intense flavor that reflects the character of the apples used, while apple juice is generally sweeter and more diluted in taste. Apple cider is made from freshly pressed apples, while apple juice is filtered, refined, and pasteurized, which gives it a longer shelf life. Summary: Apple cider and apple juice are both made from apples, but they are different in taste, processing, and nutritional value. Whether you already have one or both of them in your refrigerator at home or if you’re considering which one to pick up next time you’re grocery shopping, understanding how they are different can be helpful! In this blog post, we’ll explore exactly what each of these beverages is and why their differences do matter. It is important to know how is apple cider different from apple juice. Before the advent of modern processing, you wouldn’t have to ask.Have you ever looked closely at the juice aisle of your favorite grocery store and seen two different bottles labeled as “apple” products? One might say “Apple Juice,” while the other says “Apple Cider.” Surely these can’t be too different, right? Well, as it turns out, there are quite a few differences between apple cider and apple juice. In short, it seems to me, juice/cider confusion is a recent phenomenon. Two explanations for all this confusion come to mind - either apple processors truly don’t know the difference between cider and juice, or, more likely, have decided to line up behind a wimp definition that enables them to flog off sterile juice in the place of genuine (because unpasteurized) cider. Juice, on the other hand, is a blend of fresh apple squeezings and concentrate. My original informant is out, but another spokesperson, obviously reading from a prepared statement (and no doubt with armed representatives of the Cider Control Board standing beside her), states that her company too makes cider from early harvest apples, contrary to earlier reports. I call back the midwestern bottler (cider = juice). The main difference between the two products is the amount of clarification done in the processing.” Immediately dismissing the distracting second sentence, I focus on the first. However, in the letter itself, my informant blithely states, “We use the first season apples to provide a sharp, tart taste. It includes some photocopied pages from the American Cider Book essentially confirming our conversation about pasteurization. A letter arrives from informant #2 (true cider is unpasteurized). Suspicious events then begin to transpire. The guy I got this from says his company is quite scrupulous about monitoring the acidity of its product and changing the labels accordingly. Therefore, the company claims, it’s possible to make not only frozen cider concentrate, contrary to your assertion, but also “sludgy” - i.e., unfiltered, hence cloudy - apple juice. Thus true cider remains cider after processing because pasteurization doesn’t affect the acid/sugar content. (Source: Washington State outfit that claims to be the country’s largest maker of juice and cider.) Early-harvest apples supposedly have higher acid and lower sugar content, producing a drink with a tangier taste. Cider is made from apples that are picked early. The manufacturers call their product cider in the fall for marketing purposes.ģ. What you buy in the store, in contrast, is pasteurized soon after crushing, preventing fermentation and resulting in a pleasant but kickless taste. Consequently, it ferments over time, giving it a mildly alcoholic kick. (Source: East Coast conglomerate also, the old edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.) The product you buy from roadside stands usually hasn’t been pasteurized. The store-bought stuff is juice, the homemade stuff is cider. In other words, it’s all marketing booshwa. (Source: large midwestern bottler.) Uncle Sam confirms there’s no legal distinction. I’ve checked around with most of the major manufacturers and with various reference books, and the result is I’ve come up with three logical, plausible, but totally contradictory explanations of the difference between cider and apple juice. Offhand you wouldn’t think the cider/juice dichotomy would present a particularly compelling demonstration of this fact, but think again. Science tells us, William, that there are limits to what we can hope to know about the cosmos.
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