Here’s a simple guide on How to Water Bath Can Apple Juice.
Disclaimer & Safety Warning: Home canning can involve risks, especially botulism and requires you to use scientific-based procedures like using approved recipes and processing times. Always check jars for signs of spoilage before use. Make at your own risk and do your own research. National Center for Home Preservation is a resource.
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When my mom gave me two big grocery bags of apples, I knew I had to do something with them besides just eat them. Since we are in fall I thought the perfect thing to do with them would be to make juice. That way we could make spiced apple cider later on in the winter. It’s a treat for a cold rainy day.
Making Apple Juice
This is quite the process. I would suggest investing in a juicer for this. I have the Breville Juicer and I love it. I have had it since 2018 right after my first child was born. It is on the more expensive side but with the quality and capacity I really think it’s worth it. Of course, there are plenty of other options out there that will surely help you out in this process!
The most tedious part of this process is coring the apples. I did not have a corer so, I had to chop in halves then quarters and then use a pairing knife core out the apple. It took a while. But in the end it was worth it. Just like everything else you make from scratch, it will take time, but it’s way better. Speaking of that, have you started a sourdough starter yet? If you want to water bath can apple juice there is some equipment you will need.
Equipment needed to Water Bath Can Apple Juice:
Depending on how much you are doing this can take some time. I put a specific amount of apples in the recipe below but keep in mind that you can use any amount of apples you want. This recipe is to make around 7 quarts of apple juice. If you want less just subtract some or double the recipe to get more!
Steps to Water Bath Can Apple Juice
- Wash your Apples.
- Core your apples.
- Juice your apples.
- Strain into a large pot using a colander and a cheese cloth.
- Start your water bath canner and get it to a boil, sterilize your jars and lids. (Sterilize the lids in a separate small pot.
- Warm your apple juice to 185 degrees fahrenheit.
- Once jars are sterilized use your food funnel and ladel the hot apple juice into the hot jars to 1/4 inch head space.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth and put on sterilized lids. Using the rings put them on finger tip tight.
- Place them into the water bath canner boiling for 5 minutes for quarts and pints 10 minutes for half gallons. If you live above 1000 ft. above sea level here’s a guide for canning from the National Center for Home Preservation.
- Once your time is up, use your jar lifter to remove them from the water bath canner and place on the counter for 24 hours. Then you have your canned apple juice!
Like I said, this is a process but it’s well worth it. Apple trees produce SO MANY apples and it’s hard to eat them all. Making things like apple juice can put them to good use so there is less waste from your tree.
Types of Apples to use:
You can truly use any type of apple you want. Use tart if you want more sour, use sweet if you want sweet etc. Or even mix the too. I used a mix of fuji and pink lady because that is what my mom had. It came out both tart and sweet and I love it. Here’s a list of the most popular I found for Apple Juice.
- Gala
- Golden Delicious
- Honey Crisp
- Fuji
- Ambrosia
- Granny Smith
- Pink Lady
An even easier juice to can is Cranberry Juice – Get my recipe here!
Happy Canning!
How to Water Bath Can Apple Juice
Equipment
Materials
- 24 Lbs Apples
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice per quart (example: If it yields 7 quarts use 7 tbsp of lemon juice.)
Instructions
- Wash and core your apples using a corer or pairing knife.
- Juice your apples.
- Strain into a large stock pot using a colander and a cheese cloth. (Picture above in blog)
- Start your water bath canner and get it to a boil, sterilize your jars and lids. (Sterilize the lids in a separate small pot.
- Warm your apple juice to 185 degrees fahrenheit. Before it is all the way heated add in your lemon juice and stir.
- Once jars are sterilized and juice is ready use your food funnel and ladle the hot apple juice into the hot jars to 1/4 inch head space.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth and put on sterilized lids. Using the rings put them on finger tip tight.
- Place them into the water bath canner boiling for 5 minutes for pints and quarts, 10 minutes for half gallons. If you live above 1000 ft. above sea level here's a guide for canning from the National Center for Home Preservation.
- Once your time is up, use your jar lifter to remove them from the water bath canner and place on the counter for 24 hours. Then you have your canned apple juice!
