One of America's Favorites - Apple Cider

Apple Cider - Filtered and Unfiltered

Apple cider (also called sweet cider or soft cider) is the name used in the United States and parts of Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. Though typically referred to simply as "cider" in those areas, it is not to be confused with the alcoholic beverage known as cider throughout most of the world, called hard cider (or just cider) in North America.

Once widely pressed at farmsteads and local mills, apple cider is now easy and inexpensive to make. It is typically opaque due to fine apple particles in suspension and generally tangier than conventional filtered apple juice, depending on the apples used. Today, most cider is treated to kill bacteria and extend its shelf life, but untreated cider can still be found. In either form, apple cider is a seasonally produced drink of limited shelf-life that is typically available only in autumn. It is traditionally served on the Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and various New Year's Eve holidays, sometimes heated and mulled. It is the official state beverage of New Hampshire.

Although the term cider is used for the fermented alcoholic drink in most of the world, it refers to fresh "apple cider" in the United States and much of Canada; hard cider is used there instead for the alcoholic drink.

While some states specify a difference between apple juice and cider, the distinction is not well established across the U.S. Massachusetts makes an attempt to at least differentiate fresh cider and processed apple juice: according to its Department of Agricultural Resources, "apple juice and apple cider are both fruit beverages made from apples, but there is a difference between the two. Fresh cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Vacuum sealing and additional filtering extend the shelf life of the juice." This still leaves unfiltered apple juice that is no longer raw in a gray area, presumably cider but not labeled as such. The addition of sweeteners or reconstitution from concentrate are left even grayer.

Canada recognizes unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice as cider, fresh or not.


Historically all cider was left in its natural state, unprocessed. In time, airborne yeasts present on

Cidering in a contemporary rural area mill.

apple skins or cider making machinery would start fermentation in the finished cider. Left on its own, alcohol would develop and forestall growth of harmful bacteria. When modern refrigeration emerged, cider and other fruit juices could be kept cold for long periods of time, retarding fermentation. Any interruption of the refrigeration, however, could invite bacterial contamination to grow. Outbreaks of illness resulted in government regulation requiring virtually all commercially produced cider to be treated either with heat or radiation.

As a result, natural raw cider is a specialty seasonal beverage, produced on-site at orchards and small rural mills in apple growing areas and sold there, at farmers markets, and some juice bars. Such traditional cider is typically made from a mixture of several different apples to give a balanced taste. Frequently blends of heirloom varieties such as Winesap, once among the most sought-after cider apples for its tangy flavor, are used. The US government requires that unpasteurized cider and juice have a warning label on the bottle.

Even with refrigeration, raw cider will begin to become slightly carbonated within a week or so and eventually become hard cider as the fermentation process continues. Some producers use this fermentation to make hard cider; others carry it to acetification to create artisanal apple cider vinegar.


Virtually all commercially produced cider is treated for bacterial contamination, which also extends its shelf life; the most common method used is pasteurization, but UV irradiation is also employed.

Pasteurization, which partially cooks the juice, results in some change of the sweetness, body and flavor of the cider; irradiation has less noticeable effects.

Impetus for Federal level regulation began with outbreaks E. coli O157:H7 from unpasteurized apple cider and other illnesses caused by contaminated fruit juices in the late 1990s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made proposals in 1998; Canada began to explore regulation in 2000.

The U.S. regulations were finalized in 2001, with the FDA issuing a rule requiring that virtually all juice producers follow Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) controls, using either heat pasteurization, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), or other proven methods to achieve a "5 log" reduction in pathogens.

Canada, however, relies on a voluntary Code of Practice for manufacturers, voluntary labelling of juice/cider as "Unpasteurized", and an education campaign to inform consumers about the possible health risks associated with the consumption of unpasteurized juice products.


Modern cider making has come a long way from early forms of production that involved a man- or horse-powered crusher. These consisted of a stone or wood trough with a heavy circulating wheel to crush the fruit, and a large manual screw press to express the juice from the pulp. Straw was commonly used to contain the pulp during pressing, later replaced by coarse cloth. As technology advanced, rotary drum "scratters" came into use. Today, nearly all small pressing operations use atomic-hydraulic equipment with press cloths and plastic racks in what is commonly called a "rack and cloth press", and atomic hammermill "breakers".

Depending on the varieties of apples and using the optimal extraction methods, it takes about one third of a bushel (10 liters) to make a gallon (3.78 liters) of cider. Apples are washed, cut, and ground into a mash that has the consistency of coarse applesauce. Layers of this mash are then either wrapped in cloth and placed upon wooden or plastic racks where a hydraulic press then squeezes the layers together, or the mash is distributed onto a continuous belt filter press, which squeezes the pulp between two permeable belts fed between a succession of rollers that press the juice out of the pulp in a continuous, highly efficient operation. The resulting juice is then stored in refrigerated tanks, pasteurized to kill bacteria and extend shelf life, and bottled and sold as apple cider. The juice may also be fermented to produce hard cider, which then may be further treated by exposure to acetobacter to produce apple cider vinegar, or distilled to produce apple brandy. The waste left after pressing, known as pomace, is sold for cattle feed.

Hot mulled cider – similar to "Wassail" – is a popular autumn and winter beverage. Cider is heated to

Hot mulled cider

a temperature just below boiling, with cinnamon, orange peel, nutmeg, cloves, or other spices added.

Authentic "sparkling cider" is a naturally carbonated beverage made from unfiltered apple cider. "Sparkling apple juice", often confused with it and sometimes even labeled as "sparkling cider", as does the popular Martinelli's brand, is filtered, pasteurized, and mechanically carbonated and thus not true cider.

Rosé apple cider can be obtained using red-fleshed applecrabs.

"Cider doughnuts" traditionally used the yeast in raw cider as a leavener. Today they are sometimes sold at cider mills and roadside stands, though there is no assurance natural cider is used. Visiting apple orchards in the fall for cider, doughnuts, and self-picked apples is a large segment in agritourism.

One of America's Favorites - Orange Juice

Orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree, extracted by squeezing oranges.

A glass of pulp-free orange juice

Commercial orange juice with a long shelf life is made by drying and later re-hydrating the juice, or by concentrating the juice and later adding water to the concentrate. Prior to drying, the juice may also be pasteurized and oxygen removed from it, necessitating the later addition of a flavor pack, generally made from orange products. Orange juice is known for its health benefits, particularly its high concentration of vitamin C. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange. In American English, the beverage name may be abbreviated as "OJ".

Due to the importance of oranges to the economy of the state of Florida, "the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids thereof" was adopted as the official beverage of Florida in 1967. Orange juice (along with grapefruit juice) is offered to every visitor at each of the state's five Florida Welcome Centers.



A cup serving of raw, fresh orange juice, amounting to 248 grams or 8 ounces, has 124 mg of vitamin

Nutritional value per 248 g (1 cup)

C (>100% RDI). It has 20.8 g of sugars and has 112 Calories. It also supplies potassium, thiamin, and folate.

Citrus juices contain flavonoids (especially in the pulp) that may have health benefits. Orange juice is also a source of the antioxidant hesperidin. Because of its citric acid content, orange juice is acidic, with a typical pH of around 3.5.








Commercial squeezed orange juice is pasteurized and filtered before being evaporated under vacuum and heat. After removal of most of the water, this concentrated juice, about 65% sugar by weight, is then stored at about 10 °F (−12 °C). Essences, Vitamin C, and oils extracted during the vacuum concentration process may be added back to restore flavor and nutrition (see below).

When water is added to freshly thawed concentrated orange juice, it is said to be reconstituted.

The product was developed in 1948 at the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center. Since, it has emerged as a commodity product, and futures contracts have traded in New York since 1966. Options on FCOJ were introduced in 1985. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the product had the greatest orange juice market share, but not-from-concentrate juices surpassed FCOJ in the 1980s.


Orange juice that is pasteurized and then sold to consumers without having been concentrated is labeled as "not from concentrate". Just as "from concentrate" processing, most "not from concentrate" processing reduces the natural flavor from the juice. The largest producers of "not from concentrate" use a production process where the juice is placed in aseptic storage, with the oxygen stripped from it, for up to a year.

Removing the oxygen also strips out flavor-providing compounds, and so manufactures add a flavor pack in the final step, which Cooks Illustrated magazine describes as containing "highly engineered additives." Flavor pack formulas vary by region, because consumers in different parts of the world have different preferences related to sweetness, freshness and acidity. According to the citrus industry, the Food and Drug Administration does not require the contents of flavor packs to be detailed on a product's packaging.

One common component of flavor packs is ethyl butyrate, a natural aroma that people associate with freshness, and which is removed from juice during pasteurization and storage. Cooks Illustrated sent juice samples to independent laboratories, and found that while fresh-squeezed juice naturally contained about 1.19 milligrams of ethyl butyrate per liter, juice that had been commercially processed had levels as high as 8.53 milligrams per liter.


A small fraction of fresh orange juice is canned. Canned orange juice retains Vitamin C much better than bottled juice. The canned product loses flavor, however, when stored at room temperature for more than 12 weeks. In the early years of canned orange juice, the acidity of the juice caused the juice to have a metallic taste. In 1931, Dr. Philip Phillips developed a flash pasteurization process that eliminated this problem and significantly increased the market for canned orange juice.



Fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized juice is the closest to consuming the orange itself. This version of the juice consists of oranges that are squeezed and then bottled without having any additives or flavor packs inserted. The juice is not subjected to pasteurization. Fresh squeezed orange juice has a typical shelf life of 12 days.


In the U.S., the major orange juice brand is Tropicana Products (owned by PepsiCo Inc.), which possesses nearly 65% of the market share. Tropicana also has a large presence in Latin America, Europe, and Central Asia. Competing products include Minute Maid (of The Coca-Cola Company) and Florida's Natural (a Florida-based agricultural cooperative that differentiates itself from the competition by being locally owned and using only Florida grown oranges; Tropicana and Simply Orange use a mixture of domestic and foreign stock). In Australia, Daily Juice (owned by National Foods) is a major brand of partially fresh, partially preserved, orange juice.

In the United Kingdom, major orange juice brands include Del Monte and Princes.


Common orange juice is made from the sweet orange. Different cultivars (e.g., Valencia, Hamlin)

A glass of blood orange juice

have different properties, and a producer may mix cultivar juices to get a desired taste. Orange juice usually varies between shades of orange and yellow, although some ruby red or blood orange varieties are a reddish-orange or even pinkish. This is due to different pigmentation in ruby red oranges.

The blood orange is a mutant of the sweet orange. Blood orange juice is popular in Italy, but may be hard to find elsewhere. The Mandarin orange and varieties clementine and tangerine, are good for juice, and are often used for sparkling juice drinks.

Recently, many brands of organic orange juices have become available on the market.

Kitchen Hint of the Day!

Looking for just a little something to elevate that recipe? Instead of the water your recipe calls for, try juices, bouillon, or water you've cooked vegetables in. Instead of milk, try buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. It can add a whole new flavor and improve nutrition.

Kitchen Hint of the Day!

If you've been paying attention to prices at all, you know that buying a big jug of juice or soda is five or even ten times cheaper than buying one-serving bottles. When packing school lunches, use a thermos or reusable bottle instead of juice boxes or bottles. Make sure to have several, in case your child leaves one at school or you don't have time to wash it every evening. And if you simply can't work reusable bottles into your routine, consider buying empty bottles in bulk. The website Bottles.us sells plastic water bottles for about 50 cents per bottle, and while filling them and letting your child recycle them at school won't save as much as a thermos would, it's still much cheaper than buying Snapple from a vending machine.

Kitchen Hint of the Day!

Frozen, concentrated juice is almost always less expensive per glass than juice you buy in a bottle. Find a brand that says "100% juice" and mix with a pitcher of water for savings.