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Apricot juice is a healthy and tasty drink that can be easily prepared at home. It is enough to separate the juice from the apricot pulp and boil it well. Spices, apples and lemons will help improve the taste of the drink.
Cooking rules
To prepare high-quality juice, you need ripe, juicy apricots. If the fruits are not ripe enough, they will produce little juice.
The fruits are first washed and divided into parts. The seeds are removed, and the remaining halves are left to dry for 1-2 hours.
You can process the fruit pulp manually or using kitchen appliances. Gauze, a sieve, a meat grinder, a blender or a juicer will help separate the pulp.
Features of preparing apricot juice:
- use enamel, plastic or glass containers;
- for canning you will need glass jars of various capacities;
- for long-term storage of apricot juice, containers are sterilized;
- During the cooking process, fruits are not allowed to come into contact with metal surfaces;
- cooking beyond the prescribed time leads to the destruction of vitamins and nutrients;
- ripe fruits cook faster than unripe ones;
- during heat treatment, the liquid is constantly stirred;
- the pulp is not thrown away, but left for making purees and fillings for pies;
- Juice from apples, pears, and peaches goes well with apricot juice.
To get preparations for the winter, you need to sterilize the jars in a water bath, in the microwave or oven. The lids need to be boiled well. Instead of jars, you can use glass bottles with lids.
Apricot juice recipes
To prepare a delicious drink for the winter, add lemon, apples or spices to apricots. Change the amount of sugar as desired. A juicer, blender or juicer will help simplify the process.
With pulp for the winter
Apricot juice with pulp has a thick consistency and rich taste. This is ensured due to the increased concentration of pulp in the drink.
Preparation procedure:
- First, 5 kg of apricots are processed. The fruits are washed, divided into parts, and the seeds are discarded.
- The resulting mass is placed in a large saucepan and filled with cold water. The thickness of the water above the fruit is 3 cm.
- Place the container on the stove, bring the mass to a boil and continue cooking until the fruit softens.
- When the apricots are boiled, turn off the stove. The apricot mass is left to cool to room temperature.
- The cooled fruits are placed in a sieve and ground in small batches. The water and residues are processed through a sieve.
- The resulting mass is transferred to a new container, filled with water and boiled for 5 minutes.
- If desired, add sugar to the apricot drink. The finished product is poured into jars.
Through a juicer
It is very easy to prepare apricot juice if you have a juicer. Such devices can be manual, mechanical or fully automated.
An auger juicer is suitable for processing apricots or other stone fruits. It consists of a round bushing, during which the seeds are separated from the pulp.You can obtain apricot pomace using any type of juicer.
The process of obtaining juice using a juicer includes several stages:
- Ripe apricots in the amount of 2 kg must be thoroughly washed. If the juicer is not designed to work with fruits containing seeds, then remove them manually.
- The resulting mass is loaded into the container of the device and the juice is squeezed out of it.
- Add 1.5 liters of water and 200 g of sugar to the apricot pomace. The number of components is allowed to vary according to taste.
- Mix the liquid well, put on fire and cook for 10 minutes. When foam begins to appear, it must be removed with a spoon.
- To preserve apricot drink for the winter, jars and lids are sterilized.
- The hot liquid is poured into containers that are closed with lids.
- The jars are turned over and left under a blanket until they cool completely.
With lemon
Apricot juice acquires an unusual taste after adding lemon. The process of preparing the drink includes several stages:
- Juice is squeezed out of apricots in any convenient way.
- For each 3-liter jar of juice, take 1 lemon and 3 tbsp. l. Sahara. The juice is squeezed out of the lemon and added to the apricot juice.
- The resulting mixture is placed on the fire and wait until it boils. Add sugar to taste.
- After the boil begins, wait 5 minutes.
- Hot apricot liquid is poured into jars and closed with lids.
- The containers are turned over and kept under a blanket until completely cooled.
With apples
When apples are added, the apricot drink becomes less concentrated and acquires a sour, refreshing taste.
To obtain apple-apricot juice, follow the following algorithm:
- Apricots in the amount of 3 kg need to be washed well, divided into parts and pits removed.The fruits are passed through a juicer.
- Then take 3 kg of apples. The fruits are washed and cut into quarters, the core is cut out. A squeeze is obtained from apples in a similar way.
- Fill the pan with 300 ml of water, add the previously obtained liquids.
- To neutralize the sour taste of apples, add 300 g of sugar to the liquid. The amount of sweetener can be changed as desired.
- The mixture is simmered over low heat, but not brought to a boil. When foam forms, remove it with a slotted spoon.
- The finished apricot drink is poured into sterilized jars and the lids are screwed on.
Spicy
Adding spices helps give the apricot drink a piquant taste. The amount of spices can be changed or some items can be completely eliminated.
Fresh mint (2-4 leaves), clove stars (4 pcs.), vanilla pods (1 pc.), cinnamon (1 pc.) go well with apricot.
How to prepare a spicy drink:
- Juice is squeezed out of apricots using any suitable method.
- For every 4 liters of liquid obtained, take 1 lemon.
- Pour 0.7 liters of water into a separate pan, add 300 g of granulated sugar, lemon juice and selected spices. Lemon peel is also added to the syrup.
- Place the container with the syrup on the fire and cook for 10 minutes.
- Then the contents of the pan are filtered through cheesecloth, the liquid is poured into the apricot pomace.
- Place the apricot juice on the fire and wait until it starts to boil. The liquid is constantly stirred and foam is removed from the surface.
- When boiling begins, turn off the fire. Add sugar to taste.
- Cook the liquid for another 5 minutes over low heat.
- The apricot drink is poured into jars and sealed.
Through a juicer
A juicer is a device for preparing juices.Its design includes several containers placed one above the other. There are devices that operate from the mains.
When apricot pulp is exposed to steam, juice is released, which does not require boiling or other processing. The resulting liquid has a good taste and a high concentration of nutrients.
When using a juicer, the juicing process takes a long time. However, much less effort will be expended than with other devices.
The process of preparing an apricot drink using a juicer:
- Water is poured into the lower part of the juicer in an amount of 3-5 liters, depending on the volume of the device.
- To fill the top container, you need to wash the apricots and divide them into halves.
- The fruits are sprinkled with 5-7 tablespoons of sugar on top to speed up the release of juice.
- The device is placed on the stove or connected to the mains.
- The cooking process lasts from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The exact information is specified in the instructions for the device.
- Apricot juice is poured into jars and sealed for the winter.
Sugarless
Apricots themselves are sweet, so you can make juice without adding sugar. This drink is suitable for those who follow a healthy diet. Sugar-free juice can be included in the diet menu.
How to prepare a sugar-free drink:
- First you need to select 4 kg of apricots, divide them into parts and discard the pits.
- Add 2 cups of boiling water to the container with the pulp.
- The fruits are boiled for 10 minutes, after which they are rubbed through a sieve.
- The resulting apricot pomace is poured into a pan and placed on the stove.
- When the liquid boils, it is poured into jars for storage.
In a blender
If you don’t have special equipment for making juice, you can use a regular blender. An immersion blender or food processor is suitable for processing apricots.
The process of preparing apricot juice in a blender consists of the following steps:
- For juice, 3 kg of ripe apricots are selected.
- Then take a large saucepan, which is filled 2/3 with water.
- Place the container on the fire and bring the water to a boil.
- Before the boiling process begins, prepare a pan with cold water.
- Apricots are placed in a colander and immersed in boiling water for 15-20 seconds.
- Then the fruits are placed in cold water for 1 minute.
- After this treatment, you can easily remove the skin from the fruit and remove the seeds.
- The resulting pulp is placed in a separate bowl.
- The apricot mass is placed in a blender and processed to obtain a homogeneous puree.
- Add 0.8 liters of water to the finished mass. Then pour in ½ tsp. citric acid and 0.2 kg of sugar.
- Place the mixture on the fire and wait until it boils, then keep the container on the stove for 5 minutes. The amount of sugar and water can be changed to give the drink the desired taste and thickness.
- Hot apricot juice is poured into containers for storage.
Conclusion
Apricot juice is prepared from fresh fruits. If desired, add spices, lemon squeeze or sugar to the drink. A juicer, blender or juicer will help simplify the cooking procedure. If the drink is prepared for the winter, all containers are pasteurized.
