Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/13/2026
Processing details
Source & provenance
Safety summary
Half-gallon jars are tested only for apple and grape juice. Sterilize pint and quart jars for a 5-minute process.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Hot
- Jar sizes
- Pint, Quart, or Half-Gallon Jars
- Headspace
- 1/4 inch
- Processing time
- Pints or quarts 5/10/15 and half-gallons 10/15/20 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. Follow the NCHFP source exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare jars and a boiling-water canner.
- Extract juice, refrigerate 24–48 hours, carefully decant and filter, then heat until it begins to boil before filling.
- Fill pints, quarts, or half-gallons, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- Pints or quarts 5/10/15 and half-gallons 10/15/20 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
- Cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours and check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner, nonreactive saucepan or stockpot, preparation tools, jar lifter, and pints, quarts, or half-gallons.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Use sound produce and exact measured ingredients.
- Pack: Hot pack; maintain 1/4 inch headspace.
- Process: Keep jars covered by boiling water and use the altitude schedule.
- Cool: Leave jars upright and undisturbed.
Safety essentials
Half-gallon jars are tested only for apple and grape juice. Sterilize pint and quart jars for a 5-minute process.
About this recipe
Apple Juice is a tested NCHFP boiling-water home-canning recipe using hot pack.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning
- Pack
- Hot pack
- Jar size
- Pints, quarts, or half-gallons
- Headspace
- 1/4 inch
Altitude and processing schedule
Pints or quarts 5/10/15 and half-gallons 10/15/20 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
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Apple Juice — NCHFP
Ingredients
- fresh apple juice best quality when freshly pressed; refrigerate 24 to 48 hours before clarifying
Equipment
- Boiling-water canner
Directions
- Refrigerate fresh apple juice for 24 to 48 hours. Without mixing, carefully pour off the clear liquid and discard sediment.
- Strain the clear juice through a paper coffee filter or double layers of damp cheesecloth.
- Heat quickly, stirring occasionally, until the juice begins to boil.
- Fill immediately into sterile pint or quart jars, or clean half-gallon jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
- Process pints or quarts 5/10/15 minutes and half-gallons 10/15/20 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Serve as appropriate for the preserved fruit, or use in breakfast dishes, desserts, sauces, and baking after opening.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by NCHFP. Half-gallon jars are tested only for apple and grape juice. Sterilize pint and quart jars for a 5-minute process.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process when permitted.
How this recipe compares
The half-gallon allowance is specific to apple and grape juice and cannot be generalized.
Troubleshooting
Settle and decant carefully so sediment remains behind.
Discard jars showing leakage, bulging, spurting, mold, or other spoilage. Never taste to determine safety.
Source & provenance
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Fall
Months: September, October, November
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
35–70 lb of Apples per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.