Apple juice concentrate

One US cup of apple juice concentrate weighs 281 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.36 cups.

Also called frozen apple juice concentrate, unsweetened apple juice concentrate, concentrated apple juice, AJC.

Two sources agree within measurement precision. USDA FoodData Central FDC 173934 (Apple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted, without added ascorbic acid, SR Legacy) publishes 1 can (6 fl oz) = 211 g, which extrapolates to 1 cup (8 fl oz) = 281 g and implies a density of 1.1878 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Apple juice concentrate' at 1/4 cup = 70 g, extrapolating to 280 g per cup and 1.1835 g/mL. The gap between them is 0.46 percent, well inside any reasonable tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 281 g per cup and names both sources. Both figures describe the retail-form frozen apple juice concentrate: unsweetened, undiluted, packaged in standard 6 or 12 fluid ounce cans to be thawed and mixed with water to produce regular-strength apple juice.

The 1.19 g/mL density corresponds to approximately 40 to 45 degrees Brix, the standard concentration for retail frozen apple juice concentrate in the United States. Industrial apple juice concentrate is often shipped at 65 to 72 degrees Brix (density approximately 1.32 to 1.36 g/mL) for bulk transport efficiency, but this stronger concentrate is not typically sold at retail and is not what King Arthur's chart is measuring. Home bakers using apple juice concentrate as a natural sweetener or moisture source in recipes essentially always use the retail 40 to 45 Brix form covered by this entry.

Apple juice concentrate is placed in the syrup category alongside honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, molasses and sweetened condensed milk on this site. At 1.19 g/mL it is the lowest-density entry in the syrup cluster (honey publishes at approximately 1.42 g/mL, corn syrup at approximately 1.38, sweetened condensed milk at approximately 1.28), but its physical behavior and baking function match the syrup category rather than the water-based liquid category. It is thick, sticky, slow-pouring, and functions in recipes as a sugar-forward moistener the way other syrups do. Recipes calling for 'juice concentrate' as an ingredient are treating it as a syrup, not as a fruit juice.

Apple juice concentrate is distinct from regular ready-to-drink apple juice, which USDA covers under a separate record (FDC 173935, apple juice, frozen concentrate, diluted with 3 volumes water) at approximately 1.04 g/mL, a water-density beverage. The dilution ratio is important: standard retail apple juice concentrate reconstitutes 1 volume concentrate to 3 volumes water, so a 6 fl oz can of concentrate produces 24 fl oz of drinkable juice. Recipes calling for 'apple juice' without qualifier mean the reconstituted beverage, not the concentrate. This distinction matters both for weight (concentrate is roughly 15 percent denser than the reconstituted juice) and for sweetness (concentrate contains four times the sugar per volume).

Product variants: unsweetened frozen concentrate (covered here) is the primary retail form. Sweetened frozen apple juice concentrate exists but is uncommon in the US market where 'apple juice concentrate' generally means the unsweetened product. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) fortification is common in modern packaged apple juice concentrate but has negligible density impact. Shelf-stable ambient apple juice concentrate (sold in aseptic packaging without freezing) has essentially the same density as the frozen form. Boiled cider, a traditional New England apple concentrate reduced to 60 to 70 degrees Brix on the stovetop, is a distinct product with higher density (approximately 1.28 to 1.32 g/mL) closer to maple syrup, and would earn its own entry when a second authoritative source becomes available.

No standards body publishes a bulk density for apple juice concentrate. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for frozen concentrated apple juice that specify minimum Brix values (22.9 degrees for Grade A) but not density directly. Density can be derived from Brix using standard sugar-solution tables but the relationship is not published as a physical-density standard for apple juice concentrate. Two independent authoritative sources agree within measurement precision, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.