If you have an apple tree in your garden, it can hardly be saved from fruit in good harvest years. You can also make delicious apple juice yourself without a juicer. When filled into sterile bottles, the juice lasts for a long time. Alternatively, you can preserve it by freezing and preserve all of its valuable ingredients.
Can you freeze apple juice and how do you do it?
Apple juice can be easily frozen to extend its shelf life and preserve the valuable ingredients. Pour the freshly squeezed juice into suitable, sturdy containers such as freezer bags, ice cube makers, breast milk containers or plastic containers and freeze. To defrost, remove in portions or let thaw in the refrigerator.
Make apple juice
First wash the fruit, core it and generously remove any rotten areas. Then weigh the fruit: Two kilos of apples make about one liter of apple juice.
- Cut the apples into small pieces and cook them with a little water until soft.
- Crush everything with a blender or hand blender.
- Press the applesauce through a strainer cloth, a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.
- If necessary, season with a little sugar or lemon juice.
Alternatively, you can make apple juice with a juicer. For this, too, the fruit must be washed thoroughly and all damaged areas cut out. Pass the apples through the device and collect the apple juice.
Freeze apple juice
Since the fresh juice has to be refrigerated and even then only lasts for a few days, it must then be preserved. Freezing is a good idea because you don't have to sterilize the apple juice. This means that all vitamins and minerals are preserved.
- Pour the juice into very sturdy freezer bags immediately after juicing. Filling is easier if you place the bags in a tall, stable container, such as a coffee or teapot.
- Ice cube makers or ice cube bags are also suitable. The juice frozen in this way can be easily removed in portions.
- Breast milk containers are ideal for freezing juices. They are food-safe, free of harmful substances and suitable for freezing. They are also elastic, which is an advantage because the liquid expands when it freezes.
- If you want to freeze larger quantities of juice, plastic containers prove to be very practical. Thanks to their rectangular shape, they can be easily stacked so that the space in the freezer is optimally used.
- To defrost, simply place the cubes in a glass. Since homemade apple juice is much more flavorful than many store-bought juices, you can easily dilute it with mineral water to make a delicious spritzer.
- Larger quantities can be defrosted particularly gently in the refrigerator.
Tip
You can also freeze open apple juice (mother juice) that you do not use within a few days.