Apple Cider vs Apple Juice

[lbb87]

Are apple juice and apple cider the same thing?
I recently bought the only apple cider I could find and it tastes exactly like apple juice. The ingredients are filtered water and apple juice concentrate. The label also says that it's 100% juice. I remember buying some apple cider about 10 years ago that came in a gallon plastic jug. It had a spicy and very flavorful taste to it unlike apple juice which is more plain tasting. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the two?

[wasabi woman]

Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer, apple cider has not gone through this process. A press is used to extract the juice for apple cider.
Here's a more thorough explanation.

http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/ci...difference.htm

(they have some nice cider recipes too!)


Good Luck!

[mouse]

From what I understand, apple cider is not generally pasteurized.
However, the stuff you buy in the grocer that is called apple cider will usually be pasteurized, and what it actually is is unfiltered apple juice. You can also buy this in bottles labelled as apple juice in some brands. It will have a cloudy appearance. The normal filtered apple juice will be golden and clear.
But the only places I have seen actual unpasteurized apple cider is at farmer's orchards that sell it fresh. (and it's quite tasty too! Imo, pasteurizing destroys much of the flavor). :)
Buy it if you can (unless you're worried about health risks).

[Ishbel]

Here in the UK the descriptions applied to cider and apple juice appear to be simpler! Cider has an alcohol content, appled juice does not!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scrumpy/cider/real.htm

[mouse]

Originally Posted by Ishbel

Here in the UK the descriptions applied to cider and apple juice appear to be simpler! Cider has an alcohol content, appled juice does not!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scrumpy/cider/real.htm

In the U.S. they call cider with an alcoholic content hard cider. Is it called that over there as well?

[scott123]

Lbb87, you need to keep looking. What you bought isn't apple cider. Apple cider is fresh squeezed unfiltered apple juice - no water/reconstitution involved.

As Mouse said, sometimes cider can be pasteurized, but it isn't as good as the unpasteurized stuff you find at some farm stands.

[Psiguyy]

When I was growing up, the supermarkets sold apple juice and apple cider. They looked the same. The cider wasn't as sweet as the juice, so that's what I preferred when I was a kid.

These days, apple cider is something different from what I grew up with.

[Ishbel]

Originally Posted by mouse

In the U.S. they call cider with an alcoholic content hard cider. Is it called that over there as well?

No, Mouse - cider is only alcoholic - apple juice is just the pressed juice of apples.

Scrumpy is the very, very alcoholic stuff, brewed in Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Herefordshire - those counties have huge orchards and let me tell you, that stuff is LETHAL..... :?

[Bangbang]

I love drinking both but Apple Cider gives mr diarrhea. :oops:

[GB]

I love apple cider, but can't stand apple juice.