A fresh apple and sour cherry juice made with sweet autumn apples and fresh or frozen sour cherries. Ruby red, naturally vegan, no added sugar, ready in 10 minutes.
6applesmedium, about 2.5 lb (1.1 kg), cored and chopped
2cupssour cherriespitted, fresh or frozen and thawed, with their juice
½cupwateroptional
1tbsplemon juiceoptional
maple syrupoptional, to taste
iceto serve
Instructions
Wash the apples well, remove the cores, and chop them into chunks. Pit fresh sour cherries; if using frozen, thaw them in a bowl and keep the juice they release.
Run the apples and cherries through a juicer, alternating between the two, then add the cherry juice from the bowl. If using a blender, blend the fruit with the water until smooth.
If you blended the fruit, strain the juice through a fine sieve or a nut milk bag, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.
Stir in the lemon juice and taste. Add a little maple syrup if the cherries are very tart.
Serve fresh over ice, or chill before serving.
Notes
Frozen sour cherries work all year: thaw them first and add the juice they release. Use sweet, juicy apples or a mix of varieties. Best the day it is made; keeps up to 2 days in a sealed jar in the fridge.