How to store freshly squeezed apple juice

Freshly squeezed apple juice is very useful for the body of adults and children. It can even become a mainstay of the diet, especially for those who do not have enough time to cook delicious and healthy food, but are concerned about healthy eating. Such a drink saturates the body with vitamins and other useful biologically active substances, helps to lose weight, remove toxins.

The only drawback of apple juice, as well as any other juice from fruits or vegetables, citrus fruits, is that it cannot be stored for a long time, especially at room temperature. Fresh will not go bad for several days, but with every second of “idle” its beneficial properties disappear. Therefore, you need to either drink nectar within 10-15 minutes after squeezing, or learn how to store it properly. At the same time, doctors do not recommend using more than 150 ml. juice per day, as it contains a lot of fructose and no fiber. The scientists concluded that since liquid passes through the digestive tract faster than solid food, fiber-free fruit nectar causes faster and more dramatic changes in insulin and glucose levels. Due to the fact that the level of sugar in the blood and insulin rises, there is a risk of developing type 2 diabetes, coronary disease. Since drinking a lot of fresh juice is not recommended, if it turned out to be too much, you need to know how to properly store the nectar until the next use. For information on how, where and how much you can store freshly squeezed juice, read the article from Expertology specialists.

How much fresh juice is stored in the refrigerator

So, at room temperature, juice can retain all its beneficial properties for 15 minutes. Already after 2 hours of storage, despite the fact that the drink does not deteriorate, there will be a minimum of vitamins and microelements in it. With longer storage, especially if the fresh juice is sweet and the room is hot, the juice may begin to ferment, it is not recommended to use it. If the juice is refrigerated, it stays healthy for 4 hoursand usable within 1-2 days.

In order to preserve the maximum of useful properties, you can pour the juice into a hermetically sealed container before putting it in the refrigerator. To prevent the iron in the fresh from oxidizing, limit the contact of the drink with air by filling the container to the neck. You can also add a little citric acid to the liquid as a natural preservative.

How to preserve fresh

Properly canned apple juice can be stored in a cool place for 6-12 months. But it will not be possible to preserve all the beneficial properties of the drink during conservation, since the liquid will be heated, as a result of which most of the nutrients will be destroyed. And yet the juice will remain as tasty as immediately after preparation. Therefore, we suggest you use a simple conservation method:

1. We prepare lids and jars — carefully wash, sterilize the dishes.

2. We are preparing a container in which it will be possible to boil the squeezed juice, it can be steel or enameled, but not an aluminum pan.

3. We squeeze apple juice (recommendations on how to select apples to get a tasty and healthy drink that will be stored for a long time, read at the end of the article).

4. We filter the juice, that is, we filter it several times through gauze folded in 2-3 layers.

5. We add natural preservatives that will not harm the body of a healthy person — 1 tablespoon of citric acid and 2 tablespoons of sugar for each liter of liquid.

6. Bring the drink to a boil over low heat. If foam appears, be sure to remove it with a slotted spoon. After boiling, cool the liquid, filter again through clean gauze, then bring to a boil again, pour into jars, roll up.

Cover the jars with a terry towel, let them stand until they cool completely, transfer to a place of permanent storage.

The advantages of hot preservation are that the taste of the drink becomes richer and softer; under the influence of high temperatures, pathogenic microorganisms that may be present in the liquid are destroyed. And also in the fact that at one time it is possible without any problems and the use of special devices to prepare a lot of tasty drink for the future for several months, because its shelf life is significantly increased. Such preservation of juice is especially relevant when you have a lot of apples, they spoil, and it’s a pity to throw away the product.

This method of preparing a drink has its drawbacks:

1. When heated and boiled, not only microbes and bacteria are destroyed, but also useful substances.

2. It requires the use of sugar as a preservative, which increases the nutritional value of the drink, but negatively affects its benefits. Juice with sugar should be used very carefully for people with diabetes, a tendency to diseases of the cardiovascular system.

3. Preservation takes time, and drink cans need to be stored somewhere.

How to Freeze Freshly Squeezed Apple Juice

Freezing preservation is a method that will help preserve the maximum of the beneficial properties of food. You can store the drink for 12 months, and immediately after defrosting it will have its original taste and quality.

To freeze fresh, you need to have clean plastic containers on hand, for example, milk bottles or three-liter flasks from drinking water. However, keep in mind that the best container for freezing is the one that holds a one-time portion of the drink, because it will need to be drunk quickly, and re-freezing the product is unacceptable.

The juice does not need to be boiled first, but it is recommended to strain it through cheesecloth. Important advice — do not fill the container with liquid up to the very neck! When frozen, the juice molecules will expand, so full bottles may burst or the caps will fly off and the liquid will leak out.

You can freeze a small amount of nectar using an ice mold that can even fit in the freezer of a home refrigerator. In the future, you can put such cubes in a glass with fresh juice, you get an excellent drink for hot weather.

Which apples are suitable for making fresh juice and storing it, how to use the product correctly

For a delicious freshly squeezed apple juice, choose varieties that ripen in late summer or early fall. Great for these purposes, for example, White Bulk, Antonovka. But it is better not to use winter varieties, they give very little juice, and a lot of cake is obtained. You also need to discard the fruits if they are damaged. Rotten, broken, wrinkled, with spots and traces of worms, it is better to use it in a different way, since the taste of a drink from such raw materials can be unpleasantly surprising. Yes, and such juice deteriorates much faster, it cannot be stored.

And finally, some recommendations on how to drink freshly squeezed apple juice:

1. 
   Doctors do not advise drinking fresh juice on an empty stomach, even if you do not have any problems with the digestive system. It is better to consume it 20-30 minutes before a meal or a few hours after a meal. Fresh has a rich composition, which includes fruit acids, causing not only discomfort in the stomach, but also in the pancreas and gallbladder. If you want to drink the drink on an empty stomach, at least dilute it with drinking water.

2. 
   Wash fruits well if they are foreign-made and have wax on their skin, try to remove it.

3. 
   If the apples are too souryou can add a little sugar to the fresh juice, but it is still better to prepare a drink from fruits of sweet varieties.

And the last thing — start drinking freshly squeezed apple juice from small portions, observe the reaction of the body, if there are no disturbances in its work, gradually increase the dose to the recommended daily dose. If you know how much juice you drink per day, you will quickly learn how to prepare the right amount of drink and it will not need to be stored until the next time.