Apple Cider

Apple cider is unfiltered, non-alcoholic juice pressed from apples, typically amber and cloudy. It tastes sweet-tart with a fresh orchard aroma and a fuller body than clear apple juice. Cooks use it to deglaze pans, braise meats, poach fruit, and build vinaigrettes or reduced glazes; it is sold pasteurized or raw, sometimes spiced.

Pressed apple juices like cider developed in Europe and took strong root in North America where orchards and farm presses popularized seasonal cider. Modern production ranges from small farm stands to commercial processors, with pasteurization widely used; in the United States, "cider" usually means non-alcoholic, while "hard cider" denotes the fermented beverage.