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I have read that, to extract juice from an apple, in place of a juicer you can freeze whole apples, mash them and allow the pectic enzymes to "do it's work"

Can any offer advice on this method? Is is a good one? Are pectic enzymes okay to use in cider?

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  • I think he's suggesting that you add pectin enzyme after mashing the thawed apples. You can buy pectin enzyme at most homebrew stores. – FishesCycle Nov 12 '13 at 15:35
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    Here is a related article from University of Nebraska on freeze press extraction: ianrpubs.unl.edu/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=416 – Chino Brews Nov 12 '13 at 21:11
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    I do this with rhubarb and it works great for getting the juice out. It's about impossible if I don't freeze it. – Steve Nov 27 '13 at 0:00
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Pectic enzymes and the polysaccharide that they break down, pectin, are naturally occurring in apples. To get them to break down your apples for juice, though, you would need to wait for the fruit to ripen to the brink of rotting.

In your example, you would need to add pectic enzymes to the apples. The enzymes will break down the pectin and probably other polysaccharides that are holding the apples' cells together. Freezing will help things along as the ice's expansion will help burst cell walls. You would definitely need to warm the mixture up, though. I'm not familiar with any enzymes that work well while frozen.

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