This German-style spritzer starts with fresh-pressed apple and celery juice rather than shop-bought juice, giving it a slightly savoury, vegetal edge under the apple sweetness that a straight apple juice version would not have. Half a peeled lime goes through the juicer alongside the apples and celery, and mint leaves are blended in afterwards, just long enough to break into small flecks rather than a fully pureed paste. Because the base separates on standing, it is stored in a bottle and shaken rather than poured straight, and only mixed with sparkling water at the moment of serving so the fizz does not go flat. The result is light and herbaceous rather than heavily sweet, closer to a garden spritzer than a soda. It suits a warm afternoon outdoors, served over ice with a straw for stirring, since the juice keeps wanting to separate in the glass.
Apple mint schorle with celery
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Ingredients
- 8 green Granny Smith apples
- 4 large celery stalks
- 1/2 lime, peel removed
- 1/4 cup (about 15 g) fresh mint leaves
- 1 litre chilled sparkling water
Preparation
- Juice the apples, the celery and the peeled half lime together.
- Pour the juice into a blender with the mint leaves and blend on low for about twenty seconds, just until the mint has broken down into small flecks.
- Transfer to a sealable one-litre bottle: the mixture will separate, so plan to shake it before each use.
- To serve, shake well and fill a tall glass halfway with the apple-mint juice, then top with an equal amount of sparkling water.
- Drop in 3 or 4 ice cubes and add a straw or stir stick, since the juice keeps separating and benefits from a stir now and then.
Tip
Shake the base juice well before each pour, since the apple, celery and mint separate quickly once left to sit. If you do not have a juicer, a high-speed blender followed by straining through a nut milk bag works as a substitute for the apples and celery.
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FAQ: your questions about apple mint schorle
What is a Schorle?
A Schorle is a very simple German drink: fruit juice lengthened with sparkling water, usually in equal parts. The word describes the principle rather than a precise recipe, which is why there are as many versions as there are juices. Its appeal lies in the dilution: you get a thirst-quenching drink far less sweet than a neat juice or a soda, while keeping the taste of the fruit.
What is the apple Schorle drink?
That is the Apfelschorle, by far the most widespread version: apple juice and sparkling mineral water, served very cold. In Germany it is as ordinary as orange juice is elsewhere, available everywhere including ready-to-drink in bottles. The recipe on this page offers a more vegetal reading of it, with celery and lime working against the usual sweetness of the apple.
How do you make sparkling apple juice?
The simplest method, and the one in this recipe, is to juice fresh apples then mix that juice with sparkling water at the moment of serving, in roughly equal parts. Never prepare the mixture in advance: the bubbles escape within a few hours. Use very cold water, which holds the gas better, and pour it gently down the side of the glass rather than into the middle.
What are the benefits of sparkling apple juice?
It mainly provides water, potassium and the polyphenols of the apple, in a version half as sweet as a neat juice since it is diluted. That is its main strength: a drink that genuinely quenches thirst without the sugar load of a soda. Be careful, though, not to treat it as an equivalent of the whole fruit, since juicing removes the fibre, and bear in mind that sparkling water suits some sensitive stomachs poorly.
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