If you don’t have unsweetened apple juice on hand, you can reduce the sugar in your recipe. Just make sure it's unsweetened apple juice, so your recipe isn’t too far off from its original flavor profile. Good news! If you’re in a bind, you can substitute cider with apple juice in a recipe. And while any amateur can tell the difference between an apple pie and an apple cake, the difference between apple cider and apple juice can be a whole lot tricker. Can apple juice be substituted for apple cider in recipes?

Of course your healthiest choice would be to eat an actual apple, which gives you fiber in addition to the other nutrients. When cider is filtered to make juice, it does lose some of its nutritional properties, including polyphenol compounds, thought to reduce the risk of some cancers. The amount of calories, sugar, and vitamins are about the same in apple cider and apple juice. Which is better for you? Apple cider or apple juice? With all of the added preservatives found in apple juice, it can last for months unopened on shelves or refrigerated. Apple juice has a smooth texture because it’s usually strained to eliminate pulp and sediment found in more traditional apple cider. Apple juice in these states, on the other hand, is much more clear and pasteurized. The color is transparent, and the flavor is sweeter. Essentially apple juice is apple cider that has been heated to change the color, flavor, and texture. Remember that beverage you enjoyed after nap time in preschool? That would be apple juice. If some apple cider is left unrefrigerated (particularly one that is unpasteurized), fermentation will begin, and it will eventually turn into 'hard' cider. Its color is more opaque than apple juice and has a shorter shelf life of about 7 to 10 days refrigerated. The United States and parts of Canada now define apple cider as an unfiltered, unsweetened, nonalcoholic beverage made from pressed apples that still contains some pulp or sediment. A machine squeezes the layers and strains out the juice into cold tanks. Story continues How do we define apple cider today? To make cider, the apples are ground into an applesauce-like consistency, then wrapped in cloth.

Lucky for you, we've got everything you need to get to the core of the apple juice/apple cider issue. At some point through the years, the words “apple cider” evolved to mean something different here in the United States as opposed to the rest of the world.

And while any amateur can tell the difference between an apple pie and an apple cake, the difference between apple cider and apple juice can be a whole lot tricker. If that isn't enough, there are about a million delicious apple recipes to try: applesauce, apple butter, poached apples, apple pie, apple muffins, caramel apples, and even grilled apples, to name a few. After all, the United States' apple industry brings in close to $20 billion each year! And before you and your family hop in the car and head to a local farm stand to do some apple picking and grab an apple-y beverage, you might be curious to read on and learn if you're more of an apple cider person or an apple juice person. What's the difference between apple cider and apple juice? While they share a common fruity origin, the two have their differences.

Apple cider vs apple juice