Apfelschorle!

I first tasted "Apfelschorle" at a farm museum in Germany.

 It was a beautiful place, overlooking a picturesque valley.

I could have spent a week there, but we only had a few hours, which included one of my favorite hours, the lunch hour :)

My fellow McCloy fellow in agriculture, Erin, introduced me to this wonderful drink. 

Here's what Wikipedia says about Apfelschorle (pronounced Ahp-fell-shore-luh).

"Apfelschorle, also known as Apfelsaftschorle, is a popular soft drink in Germany. It consists of carbonated mineral water and apple juice. The broader category Fruchtschorle consists of any fruit juice mixed with carbonated water, but Apfelschorle is by far the most common. Spritzer (that is wine mixed with carbonated water) is called Weinschorle.

Apfelschorle contains fewer calories and is less sweet than pure apple juice. This makes it popular in summer and among athletes. Commercially available Apfelschorle generally contains between 55% and 60% juice.... However, in most bars and restaurants, Apfelschorle is mixed ad hoc from apple juice and carbonated water."

I make it at home...a lot...ever since I introduced my children to "the special drink".

I love that it is bubbly like soda and not as sugary.

And it's SO simple to make!

1 part apple juice.

1 part sparkling water. (I found the "Mendota" brand at our local grocery store called Hugo's)

If you REALLY want to knock the kiddos' socks off, serve it in a wine glass, just make sure it's a wine glass you don't mind having broken. I don't know about your place, but my kids break stuff. all. the. time.  :-)

When served in a wine glass, Apfelschorle can also make a pregnant lady feel like she's drinking something alcoholic.  Not that I really NEEDED something alcoholic when I was pregnant, but it just felt nice to have that glass stem in my hand :)

Also, my oldest daughter, C.W., takes the ingredients for Apfelschorle when she's "snack kid" at her pre-school.  She has done this three times and it's always a big hit! 

However, I found out that this last time she was "snack kid" some of her classmates requested to only have the sparkling water.  When I asked WHY they only wanted the sparkling water she informed me that "it made them burp a lot".  Uhuh.

Well, I THOUGHT Apfelshorle may somehow impose some class and culture on them, but leave it to kids to just be kids! LOL! :)

Have fun making Apfelshorle!  Special THANKS to American apple growers, like my friend in Michigan, Jeff Vanderwerff !

Thanks for stopping by,
Sarah :)