If you love the idea of making your own homemade juices but don’t have a juicer, this is a post for you! Here I’ll show you how to make healthy homemade apple juice in a blender using step-by-step photos. As an added bonus, I’ve included two easy recipes for your enjoyment – simple, everyday classic apple juice and a vibrant and tangy pomegranate apple juice.
Table of Contents
Why Homemade Juice is Best
I never buy ready-made juices from outside. As someone who follows Ayurvedic principles as much as possible, it is important to me that I consume both my fruit and fruit juices while they are as fresh as possible.
If Eastern medicine isn’t your cup of tea, Western science also confirms that fresh juice is better for you than commercial and has greater antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer properties than pre-bottled stuff.
Even if that weren’t the case, highly processed sugar and preservatives are often added to ready-made packaged or canned juices. Since making juice at home is so simple and is much better for me, it only makes sense that I avoid the packaged versions at all costs.
Even if I have a recipe which uses juice, I make the juice at home and then add it to the dish. Don’t worry though; making fresh juice at home is easier than you think! For even more inspiration, check out this category of 21 Fruit Juice Recipes.
Classic Apple Juice
My first recipe is plain apple juice, though I often like to add fresh ginger and celery sticks. Apples, ginger and celery are an excellent trio. I love the aroma of celery and the flavor of ginger in the apple juice, but if you don’t have them on hand you can easily skip them for a more traditional and simple apple juice.
Since apple is a pulpy, fleshy fruit, I recommend that you make this classic juice in a blender and not a juicer. If you opt to use a juicer, some of the fibre is lost which is counterintuitive to making this healthful beverage.
For fruits or vegetables like carrots, oranges, or pomegranate a juicer is good option. But for fruits like apples, various berries, mangoes, sapota, papaya or banana, a blender is preferable.
Make sure the apples are in season, fresh and sweet. Of course, you can also use tangy apples like granny smith, which makes for a tart, astringent and slightly acidic juice. Another great reason to make juice at home is that the choice is yours! Feel free to mix and match apples to find your perfect blend.
How to Make Apple Juice
Prep and Chop Apples
1. Rinse apples and let them dry naturally or wipe with a clean kitchen towel. You can use any amount of apples you like. Here I have juiced 4 medium-sized apples.
Rinsing method: To remove pesticide residue from the apples (if not using organic), soak them in water mixed with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 2 to 3 teaspoons baking soda for 10 to 15 minutes. Apples are consistently a part of the Dirty Dozen and I highly recommend you use organic apples, if you can get them.
2. Peel apples using a peeler or paring knife.
3. Then cut them into four wedges from the stem part. Cut off the seeds, pith and core from the center of each wedge. Discard the seeds (or save them to plant later).
4. Roughly chop the apples. Chop your celery (1 tablespoon) and ginger (½ to 1 teaspoon).
Tip: If you want to avoid discoloration, you can add ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon lemon juice. We are not fans of the tangy lemony flavor in an apple juice, so I don’t add it.
You can choose to peel, core and cut the apples using the method which you know. This is the method that works best for me!
Make Apple Juice
5. Add all the apple juice ingredients in a blender. At this point you could add 1 to 2 tablespoons of your preferred sweetener if needed.
6. Add ⅓ cup water (or more, as required). Blend until smooth. To loosen the consistency a bit, add a few tablespoons of water.
7. Pour in glasses and serve immediately. Serve apple juice straightaway as it oxidizes and changes color rather quickly (like the way it happened with me when I was clicking the apple juice photos). Enjoy!
Pomegranate Apple Juice
My second recipe for you today is apple pomegranate juice, which has the flavors of two fruits in one juice. Bonus!
This is an easy and healthy juice recipe to give you a quick boost of energy, and it is particularly good for drinking on hot summer days when we are drained by the sun.
You know the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” Well, it kind of makes sense! Both of these fruits are known for their health benefits. Pomegranate is good source of vitamin C and vitamin K. Apple is also a good source of vitamin C.
To make this juice, I used the juicer attachment which came with my blender. There is no need to add any sugar or sweetener in this juice. I usually add a pinch of black salt to the juice I make at home for added health benefits. Skip if you do not have black salt.
Method
- Halve or quarter 2 medium to large pomegranates. Remove the pomegranate arils.
- Peel, core and chop 2 medium to large apples.
- First add the apples in the feeder tube of the juicer and extract the juice.
- Add the pomegranate arils and extract their juice.
- Pour the juice in glasses.
- Sprinkle a pinch of black salt in each glass and serve the apple pomegranate juice immediately.
Expert Juicing Tips
- Apples: Use sweet tasting apples when they are in season. Any variety of sweet juicy or pulpy apples can be juiced. Opt to mix and match two to three varieties of apples if you like.
- Juicing Equipments: Feel free to use a slow juicer, blender or regular juicer to make the juice. I prefer making apple juice in a blender.
- When to drink: Do not eat anything for at least 30 minutes before or after having any fruit juice.
- Fruit Pairings: Combine fruits which are compatible with apple for best nutrition and health benefits.
Flavor Variations
Another thing I love about making my own homemade fruit juices is the world of flavor possibilities out there. Since apples are considered a sub-acid fruit, they can combine with most other fruits (except melons).
Here are some tasty additions you can make to your homemade apple juice:
- Vanilla – a touch of vanilla extract can add a lot of depth to your apple juice. Try adding just a splash to see if you like it!
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg or Cardamom – adding spices to your homemade fruit juice is a great way to change the flavor! Feel free to pair any of these spices with any other fruit combinations for a fun twist on apple juice.
- Orange – either add peeled, deseeded oranges to the mix, or opt to use some orange juice in place of the water. Be sure to stick to just acidic and sub-acidic fruits if you opt to use this combination.
- Strawberry – for added sweetness, try adding a few whole strawberries or some strawberry juice to the mix. As with oranges, be sure to avoid sweet fruits in this flavor combination.
- Banana – while apples and bananas play nicely together, be sure not to also add acidic fruits like oranges or strawberries to this mix.
- Coconut Water – use instead of regular water for an added dose of nutrition.
- Lemon – a squeeze of lemon adds a nice bit of acidity to apple juice and can also help to prevent premature oxidation.
This list is in no way comprehensive, rather is just intended as a guide to start you on the journey of making your own special fruit juices at home. If you come up with a winning combination, please be sure to share it in the comments below! You wouldn’t believe how much I learn from you, my dear readers.
FAQs
According to ayurveda, fruit juices should be consumed immediately to get the most nutrition out of them. Moreover, the taste of many fruit juices starts changing with time.
For best results, drink this homemade apple juice immediately. If you have any leftovers, I recommend freezing them into ice pops for a cooling, refreshing and healthy summertime treat.
As long as you pair with either acidic OR sweet fruits and don’t combine them, you should be good! As a sub-acidic fruit, apples can pair with just about any other fruits with the exception of melon, which should be eaten alone.
Sure!
While you technically can, I do not recommend straining the juice. Why would you deprive yourself of the nutrient dense pulp? I say let it be a part of your juice so that you get more nutrients and fibre. However, if you simply insist, you can strain the juice through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Apple Juice Recipe (2 Flavor Variations)
Ingredients
For Apple Juice
- 400 grams apples or 4 medium-sized apples
- 1 tablespoon chopped celery
- ½ to 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- ⅓ cup water or as needed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or honey or raw sugar or maple syrup – optional
For Pomegranate Apple Juice
- 2 apples – medium to large
- 2 pomegranates – medium to large
- 2 to 3 pinches black salt – optional
Instructions
Making Apple Juice
- Peel core and chop apples. Roughly chop the celery. Peel and chop the ginger.
- Add all the chopped ingredients in a blender. At this point you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of any preferred sweetener.
- Add ⅓ cup water or as required. Blend until smooth. To avoid discoloration, add ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- To loosen the consistency of the juice, add a few tablespoons of water and blend again.
- Pour in glasses and serve immediately.
Making Pomegranate Apple Juice
- Chop the pomegranate into two. Remove the pomegranate arils.
- Peel, core and chop the apples.
- First add the apples in the feeder tube of the juicer and extract the juice.
- Then add the pomegranate arils and extract the juice.
- Pour the juice in glasses.
- Sprinkle a pinch of black salt in each glass and serve the apple pomegranate juice immediately.
Notes
- Apples: Use sweet tasting apples when they are in season. Any variety of sweet juicy or pulpy apples can be juiced. You could mix and match two to three apple varieties for the juice.
- Juicing equipments: Feel free to use a slow juicer, blender or regular juicer to make the juice. I prefer making apple juice in a blender.
- When to drink: Do not eat anything for at least 30 minutes before or after having any fruit juice.
- Fruit Pairing: Combine fruits which are compatible with apple for best nutrition and health benefits. Pair with either acidic OR sweet fruits and don’t combine both. As a sub-acidic fruit, apples can pair with just about any other fruits with the exception of melon, which should be eaten alone.
- Make ahead? According to Ayurveda, fruit juices should be consumed immediately to get the most nutrition out of them. Moreover, the taste of many fruit juices starts changing with time. For best results, drink this homemade apple juice immediately. If you have any leftovers, you can freeze them into ice pops for a cooling, refreshing and healthy summertime treat.
- Note that the servings and approximate nutrition info is for the apple juice with celery and ginger.
I have learned this recipes for doing business in my spare time
Good to know and wish you all the best.