History

Our freeze-thaw apple inspiration comes from Henry David Thoreau, a 19th century American naturalist and philosopher, who was perhaps the first to observe and record its extraordinary properties in his book, Wild Apples, 1862. In North America, this method occurs naturally during the cold winter months. Having famously spent 2 years, 2 months and 2 days living a simple life in the woods, he had become well accustomed to foraging for wild foods and held the freeze-thaw apple in the highest regard.

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“All apples are good in this state, and your jaws are the cider press. Others, which have more substance, are a sweet and luscious food, in my opinion of more worth than the pineapples which are imported from the West Indies.”

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Taste

During the freezing process, ice crystals are formed within the apple structure causing each cell to burst open and release a heavenly flavour. Compounds responsible for the beautiful taste and fragrance of an apple are concentrated, distilling a rich bouquet for your taste buds to savour.

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“Those which a month ago were sour, crabbed, and quite unpalatable to the civilised taste, such at least were frozen while sound, let a warmer sun come to thaw them, for they are extremely sensitive to its rays, are found to be filled with a rich, sweet juice, better than any bottled juice that I know of, and with which I am better acquainted than with wine”.

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Clarity

Apple juice is usually made by crushing apples to a pulp, known as pomace, which is then pressed to squeeze out the juice. This process releases large amounts of fibre and pectin, the chemical responsible for ‘cloudiness’.

Our freezing process breaks down pectin, minimising the ‘haze’ found in traditional juices. With no need for crushing, there are virtually no apple solids in suspension either, providing our juice with superb clarity.

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“Now we greedily fill our pockets with them, bending to drink the cup and save our lappets from the overflowing juice, and grow more social with their wine.”

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Colour

Freezing also provides a wonderful depth of colour to the juice. Unlike traditional methods, the flesh is kept from ‘browning’, caused by the exposure of tannins (chemicals associated with bitterness) to air. In addition, the bursting of cells in the apple skins often releases colour pigment, adding a natural, signature dye to each batch.

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Mouthfeel

The absence of pectin changes the viscosity of the juice, adding body, texture and substance to your drink. The preservation of tannin during freezing also provides a much ‘cleaner’ taste, so you'll never be left feeling bitter-sweet.