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5/4/2026
I got a few pounds of apples, eagar to recreate the apple juice I made the first time in a small batch....let me tell you. Could not find the recipe I used for the life of me. Although, I do remember an unintended step in my process the first/last time included allowing the apples to simmer until 1 out of 2 pots had barely any liquid in it and the other larger pot had 1/3-1/2 of the liquid it was supposed to due to getting distracted for jumping in to help with an extended family thing off the back porch. (Intentionally vague)
So....with the recall that I don't believe I added any extra sugar (an aspect I appreciated incredibly), this round was very different. Seemed basic enough so....experimental it was. In one pot, I had peeled apples in chunks simmering to draw out the juice. In the other, I had half-eaten apples from my toddler son I had thrown in the freezer until I had enough left to extract the juice, because you know, trying to be less wasteful....I added the extra peels into this second pot and simmered away. Knowing extra simmer time was part of what made the first batch sweet I let them go longer than the recipe indicated to do.
I let them go a good while, and when the peeled apple chunks started to get really soft, I strained them out giving the pale juice on the left. I let the scraps go a little longer....experimental in using the freezer leftovers, the extra peels, and not measuring time....and those resulted in the darker pink color from the peels in the jar on the right. Just based on my eh-factor, I did make scrap applesauce from the no-peels fresh apples (although it also came out differently from the first scrap applesauce in texture and color), but I did not from the freezer scraps.
As I canned all of it, I was observing and highly aware of the different colors just based on the factors of the skin included - which was wild! And both tasted good, but were not nearly as sweet as my first apple juice round that got, well, um, bonus time simmering making it more concentrated.
I definitely ended up "testing" more than one element of changing from my first method, so I can't isolate factors (scientist brain activate!), so I can't take away a concrete "I did this and do/don't want to do it again for my desired result." Which is something that took me a hot minute to come to terms with - but I did finally come to the realization that its part of the fun of homesteading, learning new skills like canning and making from scratch, and the results from this round are what they are! And it is science in a way as I learned WHY the color of the juice was so different from extra peels to zero peels. Kinda cool.
We'll definitely be doing more home-made juice, just as we have been doing with sun-brewed iced tea lately, so I'll keep experimenting and I'm sure land on a method/recipe that finds the desired apple juice from either fresh or rescued apples....without the need to get distracted and feel like I wasted valuable deliciousness by leaving it simmer who knows how long....
Anyway, stay tuned for it to be an included recipe shared, whenever I find the magic balance for our family. And until then, I do encourage making your own juice! Chunks of fruit, water to simmer in a while until the goodness is infused, splash of lemon juice to brighten flavor and make it preservable (aka shelf stable via canning), and potentially blend the scraps into an applesauce/etc. after straining for less waste. It's tasty, and an afternoon spent, but worth it!
With a Joyful Heart,
Crystal Smith; Red Letter Homestead
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