Apple juice. Apple cider. You fflean there's a difference?

Apple juice. Apple cider. You fflean there's a difference?

Apple juice and apple cider are both part of the tradition of good taste in Rappahannock County and throughout Virginia. Cider, long popular in Europe, continued to be a favorite in the early days of the Commonwealth, reinforced by the limited storage and refrigeration facilities available. Newly planted apple trees often produced fruit that was •more suitable for pressing into a beverage than munching on or even cooking.

Today, with the wealth of excellent varieties of apples available for every purpose, there is still a demand for both juice and cider. Interest in the healthful aspects of these naturally delicious beverages has kept their popularity high. The advent of modem processing and marketing has made the two terms almost interchangeable in the minds of the public. However, there is a difference.

Apple juice is prepared from the first pressings of fresh, whole apples. The natural, undiluted and unfermented juice is sterilized by pasteurization so it can be held unrefrigerated for up to- a year without significant loss of quality. To bring out its sparkling amber color, apple juice is often clarified, or filtered, to removed any solids leftover from the pressing. Unclarified juice retains its slightly cloudy appearance. Apple juice is available sweetened or unsweetened, fortified with vitamin C or in combination with other fruit juices. It is then packed in vacuum-sealed cans or bottles, aseptic cartons or in frozen concentrate form, ready for sale year round.