Making Apple Juice

Drinking the Fruits of Your Labour

Drinking fruit juice is the easiest way for our bodies to digest all of the naturally occurring enzymes, vitamins and minerals that are present in fruit. In its liquid form the body doesn’t have to expend energy ‘working’ to extract the goodness, it takes it all up straight in to the blood stream delivering maximum nutritional value.  Most commercially produced fruit juice has been pasteurised (heated) to stop the juice going bad and increase its shelf life – all good and well, except that in the heating process nearly all of those beneficial enzymes, vitamins and minerals are lost. The best solution of course is to make your own, getting the tastiest juice with all the health benefits! In fact, why not try planting some apple trees specifically for juicing? Even in the tiniest garden, dwarfing rootstocks will keep trees small but still give you enough fruit for some delicious homemade apple juice.  Here is some advice for matching the right variety with the tastes you hanker after!

Flavours

Sweet juice: Ashmeads Kernel, Egremont Russet, Claygate Pearmain, King of the Pippins

Medium juice: Jonagold, Laxton’s Superb, Cox

Sharp juice: Bramley, Browns

Blending a sharp juice like Bramley with a sweeter juice will give you a more complex flavour.

Juiciest

Jonagold is a particularly juicy apple so great for home juicers! Katy and Discovery are also good.

Storage

If you’ve got room for a few trees, plant some varieties that will ripen at different times, or varieties that will keep in store, to give you juice throughout the season – Winston will stay on the tree until November, Kidds Orange Red, Ashmeads Kernel will keep well until January.

Colour

Sops In Wine will give you a lovely pink juice – mix it with Discovery for a delicious

and colourful blend.

Vintage Cider

‘Vintage’ varieties will make excellent cider without the need to blend with other apples:

Black Dabinett is a good ‘bittersweet’

Kingston Black is a good ‘bittersharp’

Browns will make a good sharp fresh juice and a sharp vintage cider

Top picture: Vigo apple crusher

Above: A table-top Vigo apple press