Read This Before You Swap Apple Cider for Apple Juice
By the editors of Cook's Illustrated
Are apple cider and apple juice interchangeable when cooking, or is there a reason some recipes call for one over the other?
When you come across a recipe that calls for apple cider, but all you have is apple juice in the fridge, can you make a substitution without greatly affecting your dish?
We tried using unsweetened apple juice in recipes for pork chops and glazed ham that call for cider. Tasters were turned off by excessive sweetness in the dishes made with apple juice, unanimously preferring those made with cider. This made sense: The filtration process used in making juice removes some of the complex, tart, and bitter flavors that are still present in cider.
To make cider, apples are simply cored, chopped, mashed, and then pressed to extract their liquid. Most cider is pasteurized before sale, though unpasteurized cider is also available. To make apple juice, manufacturers follow the same steps used to make cider, but they also filter the extracted liquid to remove pulp and sediment. Apple juice is then pasteurized, and potassium sorbate (a preservative) is often mixed in to prevent fermentation. Finally, apple juice is sometimes sweetened with sugar or corn syrup.
When we tested the pH level of both liquids, the cider had a lower pH than the apple juice, confirming its higher level of acidity.
THE BOTTOM LINE: When it comes to cooking, don’t swap apple juice for apple cider.
RECIPE FOR MEMBERS: Sauteed Pork Cutlets with Mustard-Cider Sauce
A rich, glossy sauce—a flour-thickened mixture of cider, broth, and seasonings finished with coarse mustard and butter—perfectly coats our tender, browned sautéed pork cutlets.
