How to Cook Down Apple Juice to Make Glaze

Cooking down a liquid to make a sauce or glaze is known as "reducing." You evaporate some of the liquid's water content, making it thicker and intensifying its flavors. The longer you heat the liquid, the thicker and more flavorful it becomes. While runnier sauces often require reducing a liquid by about 1/2, thicker glazes typically require a reduction by about 3/4. You generally add a sweetener and other ingredients during reduction, too. Reducing apple juice is a convenient way to make a glaze for pork, poultry, desserts and even some vegetables.

Things You'll Need

Skillet
Spoon
Sugar

Seasonings
Unsalted butter
Whisk

Instructions

Preheat a large skillet over high heat for about one minute. Use a broad, high-quality, heavy-bottomed pan to speed the reduction process.
Pour the apple juice into the pan. When determining how much to use, keep in mind you'll be reducing the quantity by about 3/4. Bring the juice to a full boil.
Stir in about 2 tablespoons of sugar per cup of apple juice until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add any other seasonings you want in your glaze. Cinnamon works well for a number of dishes, or you may want to stir in a bit of honey. Return the apple juice to a full boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high.
For every cup of apple juice, cut 1/2 stick of unsalted butter into 1-tablespoon-sized pieces. Leave it out to soften while the apple juice cooks down.
Remove the skillet from the heat when the apple juice has almost reached the desired consistency. Add the pats of butter one at a time, whisking the glaze until each pat melts and is incorporated before adding another. Let the apple juice glaze stand until you're ready to serve it.

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