Canning Apple Juice
Fresh, all natural apple juice is a must do when processing your apple harvest. Canning apple juice is easy and kids and adults will love it equally.
When apple season is in full swing, be sure to try making some homemade apple juice. It hardly resembles the apple juice that you buy in the store. It is smooth and delicious and the perfect snack.
It’s also a perfect way of preserving fresh apples. The bonus is that with this process you will end up with both apple juice and applesauce.
What apples to use
As the saying goes, the best apples to use are the ones you have. In other words, any apple will work. Each variety will give you a different flavor and sweetness level.
We like to use a mixture of apples just like we do when we make applesauce. It gives the juice a more rounded flavor.
Try to use some sweet apples, like Honeycrisp and some tart ones like Granny Smith. In this particular batch we used Honeycrisp, MacIntosh and a no name tart apple that is growing on our property.
Other varieties that are great for juice are Fuji, Pink Lady, Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala,
When sourcing apples any time of the year, be sure to source organic apples that have not been sprayed with chemicals. They may have a few spots on the skins but they are the better choice for the health of your family.
Apples are notorious for requiring lots of chemicals to maintain perfect looking fruit. They are a favorite food source of insects and fungi alike, so they are on the list of the most sprayed crops on the planet (up to 14 different sprays per growing season).
New to canning? Start with our comprehensive article on “How to Can Everything“. It will walk you through all of the dos and don’ts related to canning.
What you need
For this recipe you only need fresh apples at their peak.
How to make it
Step One
Wash apples well. Halve them. Remove core with a paring knife. (You don’t have to core apples if you aren’t using the apple pulp for applesauce)
If you have an apple corer, you can use that to core and the halve them.
Place them in a large Dutch oven. Add a few inches of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with lid.
Heat on high until water boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until they are soft.
Step Two
Remove apples to a food mill. We use the Kitchenaid with the vegetable strainer attachment.
Reserve this leftover water/ juice.
You could also use a steam juicer for this process which will steam the fruit rather than cooking them in water;
Step Three
Remove the skins with your food mill or strainer, or slip the peels off with a paring knife after they cool a bit.
If you don’t have a food mill, mash the apples or process just a few pulses with your food processor.
Step Four
Line your fine mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth.
Step Five
Pour the juice that was left in the pot in first.
Step Six
Drain the mash. which is essentially applesauce. Let it strain at least of few hours or overnight.
How to can it
Heat up the juice over medium high heat until it begins to boil and prepare your jars. Ladle hot juice into hot canning jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars clean with damp paper towel. Center lid on jar. Screw on bands fingertip tight.
Process pint jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See altitude adjustment in recipe below).
The National Center for Home Food Preservation and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. All of the recipes on this site are based on one or both of these trusted sources. We just do a more thorough job showing you how to do it, step-by-step.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
How to Can Apple Juice
Ingredients
- 8 pounds apples
Instructions
- Wash apples well. Halve them. Remove core with a paring knife. (You don’t have to core apples if you aren’t using the apple pulp for applesauce)
- If you have an apple corer, you can use that to core and the halve them.
- Place them in a large Dutch oven. Add a few inches of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with lid.
- Heat on high until water boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until they are soft.
- Remove apples to a food mill. We use the Kitchenaid with the vegetable strainer attachment.
- Reserve the leftover water/ juice.
- Remove the skins with your food mill or strainer, or slip the peels off with a paring knife after they cool a bit.
- If you don’t have a food mill, mash the apples or process just a few pulses with your food processor.
- ine your fine mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth.
- Pour the juice that was left in the pot in first.
- Strain the mash. which is essentially applesauce. Let it strain at least of few hours or overnight.
- Heat up the juice until it begins to boil and prepare your jars. Ladle hot juice into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars clean with damp paper towel. Center lid on jar. Screw on bands fingertip tight.
- Process pint jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See altitude adjustment in recipe below).
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Nutrition
Originally published November 7, 2022.
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Apple juice AND applesauce. This sounds awesome as I LOVE real apple juice and applesauce. Thanks
You are very welcome! Thanks Charles